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nikethestatue · 2 years ago

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Princess Tea Party

Summary: Single father Azriel Night and his son are invited to a Princess Tea Party where they meet single mother Elain Archeron and her daughter. Will sparks ignite between the two singletons or will their histories catch up with them and stop them in their tracks?

Elain Archeron Week 2023 'Dreamer' @elainarcheronweek

For Dragzilla and Orio, who were my light in the darkness

Chapter One

Azriel Night

“Dada…dad…dada…wake up! Wake up, dada! We have to go! Wake up!”

Azriel Night was already kind of awake, though he lay in bed with his eyes closed and pretended to be deep asleep. His son’s solid, but soft body bumped along his, and he listened to the laboured grunting that his son emitted, as he tried to climb onto the bed. Azriel did not assist him, because his baby boy wouldn’t want him to, but he opened his eye just a little, to watch the struggle. And the struggle was real. The short little legs couldn’t reach the edge of the bed, so the short little arms were grabbing at everything in sight, as his baby was attempting to pull himself up. Azriel moved his arm just a little, and his son grabbed on immediately, not recognising that dad threw him a lifeline.

“You need help, big guy?” Azriel asked at last, to which he immediately received an unequivocal,

“No dad! I do it.”

“Okay…Your tongue is hanging out,” Azriel noted, trying to stifle his laughter.

The baby’s brow furrowed and he asked, “what?”

“Nothing, nothing. Come on, a little more,” he encouraged and somehow, as it always happened, the kid was able to finally climb on the bed. He was panting dramatically with exertion, though that didn’t stop him from immediately demanding, “dada, let’s go!”

“Where are we going to go, Dari?” Azriel asked, stroking the small round head, running his fingers through the silken curls. “It’s seven in the morning.”

“To party!” Darius nodded confidently. “We go today.”

“We will,” Azriel assured him, “but it’s a little early. The party is at 3 o’clock.”

Darius frowned and inquired, “when this be?”

“In a few hours. Meanwhile, do you want to have breakfast?”

“Yeah, I wanna eat,” the baby nodded. “All stuffs.”

Azriel smiled—all stuffs indeed. His barely 3-year-old son looked like he was pushing six. He was big, robust and yet, still full of baby rolls. His fatty arms looked like those of a Michelin Man, and the soft, pinkish cheeks puffed out in a way that absolutely required that they be pinched.

“Dada what we do at party?” Darius asked, his gaze curious. As it stood right now, this would be his first party.

“Have some treats,” Azriel explained. “Fun. Maybe music.”

“Baboons?”

“Don’t know about balloons, but maybe.”

Azriel would’ve wanted for his boy to have had other party experiences, but up until about 4 months ago, life’s been hectic.

He clicked a button on his phone and the shades on his floor-to-ceiling windows slowly rose, revealing a beautiful view of Denver’s Washington Park. Another cloudless day. That was one thing that Azriel loved about his new residence—300 days of sunshine. Blue skies. Cloudless mornings such as this just about every morning.

He’d plunked down about half a million on this penthouse, snatching it right after the pandemic for a steal. Now the place appraised for 1.3 million. He couldn’t complain. It’s the least he could expect, considering that he had to move to Denver. From NYC. Denver. Provincial and unexciting Denver, full of bearded men, flannel, and entirely too many Subarus. But his only living and close relative made Denver his home, so he packed Darius and just…moved. Without looking back. Ripped off the band aid and started a new life. And he couldn’t complain, if he was being honest. Denver’s proven to be kind of nice. It was chill and green, and though unlike his brother Cassian, he wasn’t insanely enamoured with the mountains and the bicycling and skiing and snowboarding, he came to enjoy the slower lifestyle.

They walked around Wash Park every evening, and Darius fed the ducks and chased birds like a savage. Ladies in running gear with calves of steel and 3% body fat gave Azriel and Darius curious and often very needy glances. But Azriel knew that he only looked good ‘on paper’. He might’ve been pretty good looking, tall and athletic, with sleeves of tattoos and the cutest, chonkiest kid in the world, but he was also a single father to just-barely a 3-year-old. No one really wanted a guy with a kid. Because Darius was always going to be his priority, and no woman could ever take precedence in his life over his son. And women needed and wanted attention. Which was fine. He was doing well without them. He was busy creating fun routines and experiences for his son. Their fancy building had three pools, a game room, a bocce court, a ton of grilling spaces, chefs who came to give cooking lessons, and a playground for the kids located on the 30th floor. Darius fucking ate it all up—he loved the pool, he loved all the games, he liked to watch the chefs, because they usually called him to the counter and asked him to ‘help’, which he did eagerly. The kid wasn’t exactly shy. And he adored attention and all the oohing and aahing that came from the audience.

There was a coffee shop where the two of them went on weekends, and a couple of times a month, they had brunch with Cassian. They had their little Italian place where the pasta was handmade and the atmosphere was nice, and they dined there a few times a week.

Azriel knew that Cass was happy with having him and Darius around now. It felt like they were a family again, and that was nice. And even though Azriel was unsure at first whether he’d made the right decision about moving here, he was beginning to realise that perhaps, it was actually for the best.

A week ago Darius started preschool. He only went 3 times a week for 3 hours a day, but even that had Azriel spiralling. He’d never been apart from his boy, so he spent half an hour in the car, after he dropped his baby off, and actually fucking cried. He cried. It wasn’t his proudest moment, but Darius was Azriel’s entire life. His love. So watching his boy walk away just about broke him in half. Thankfully, a little girl skipped towards his son and started saying something animatedly, before taking him by the hand and tugging him along. And Azriel was grateful to the little girl, somehow trusting her to take care of his boy. So, Darius went off with a new friend, and Azriel went back to the car and cried. The second day was a tad easier, because his boy gave him the tightest, warmest hug before he ran inside and whispered ‘love too, dada’. Azriel only cried for 15 minutes afterwards.

…They brushed their teeth and washed their faces together, side by side, and then Azriel brushed Darius’s thick, black curls until they shone.

“We have to shave, dada,” Darius reminded him seriously, standing on his stool, somehow already wet up to his shoulders.

“Yeah, we gotta look good for the party,” Azriel agreed, as he covered his face with shaving cream and then dabbed some on Darius’s chubby cheeks. His son fancied himself to be very old and mature, so he had a wooden ice cream stick, which Azriel told him was his ‘blade’, so he could ‘shave’ with it, which resulted in Darius smearing the shaving cream all over his face with the stick.

“I shave good?”

Azriel dragged his own razor over his cheek, wondering why he was even bothering, since it was the weekend, but whatever.

“You are an ace shaver, bud,” he said. “You’ve got the smoothest cheeks!”

“Uncle Cass have a beard,” Darius announced. Uncle Cass also had long hair and rocked the mountain man look so well, and he got laid multiple times a week. Azriel didn’t have a beard, nor as much game as his brother. His lack of any kind of love life was an endless source of pestering on behalf of Cassian, who constantly volunteered to babysit, so Azriel could get out and hit the clubs. Or bars. Or the gym. Or anything. The idea of it all made Azriel slightly nauseous. He was completely unmotivated to pull anything or anyone, and though he feared that his dick might actually wither and fall off from lack of use, it was not enough motivation to go and get laid by some random girl. He wasn’t boring. He just didn’t want to do it. He was a solitary man by nature, and while his 20s were pretty wild by all accounts, he had no desire to relive any of it.

“Maybe you’ll have a beard one day too.”

Darius nodded and added, ‘like Cass! I want it.’

Azriel dried his soaking wet baby, and then they walked down the corridor to the kitchen.

“What do you want to eat, bud?”

Darius climbed onto his highchair and proposed ‘cookies’, definitely testing the waters.

Azriel chuckled and told him ‘nice try’.

Darius frowned, and then propped his cheek on his hand and demanded, “what then, dada?”

“How about eggs? Or oatmeal?”

“Okay, I eated eggs,” he decided, while Azriel poured him some juice. Settled in, Darius—who, unlike his father, was rather talkative—asked, “so what we do at party, dada? It’s fun? Is Cass gonna come?”

Since Cassian was literally the only other person that Darius knew with any degree of familiarity, Cassian featured quite often in all his questions.

“We’ll see. I am not sure,” Azriel admitted honestly, as he cracked the eggs into a bowl, at which point, Darius demanded, “I do it, dada! Give it.”

Azriel handed him a whisk and the bowl, saying, “Do it carefully, without splattering. And no, Cass isn’t coming.”

“Why no?”

“Because he wasn’t invited. Only you were invited,”

“Oh yeah,” Darius smiled happily. “Only me.”

“And I don’t think that Cass would do good at a Princess Tea Party,” Azriel said thoughtfully.

A Princess Tea Party is in fact where they were invited.

Yesterday, when Azriel came to pick Darius from preschool, Darius ran to him all excited, his shirt askew, his hair messy, waving a piece of paper in his hand. He ran into Azriel’s arms, and gave him a long tight hug, almost suffocating him. Which was totally fine by Azriel.

“I miss you, dada!”

“I missed you too, my boy. Was the school good?”

“Yeah, I love. Here dada, you read it,” Darius handed the paper to him.

Azriel took a surprisingly nice quality paper and unfolded it. It was an invitation.

You Are Cordially Invited

Isabella Archeron’s Princess Tea Party

Dress in your prettiest attire and prepare to enjoy delicious pastries and yummy tea

“Who gave this to you?” Azriel asked, confused by the invitation. Why was Darius invited to a Princess Tea Party?

“Girl!”

“What girl?”

“She is friend,” Darius said confidently. “Isa. She nice. I love it.”

“You like her?” Azriel straightened his son’s shirt, and then took his hand.

“Yeah, she is so good. What this paper, dada?”

“She invited you to a party tomorrow.”

“Ohhhh!” Darius looked at him with a giant happy grin and yelled “we go, dada?!?! We go to party?! I want it so!”

“You’ve never been to a party,” Azriel reminded him reasonably. Darius skipped by his side nodding in agreement, while saying, “but I wanna go.”

“To a Princess Tea party?” Azriel confirmed.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Alright. I suppose we can go. It will be mostly girls, you know,” he warned him.

Darius shrugged and said, “okay. I like girls.”

Darius was too young to have friends, and up until they moved to Denver, there wasn’t even much family to speak of. Now, at last, he had an uncle that he adored, and he was going to school where he was meeting other children and forming some kind of relationships with them. But he also had no prejudices and Azriel would’ve liked to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Elain Archeron

The doorbell rang once, almost immediately followed by a firm knock.

Elain Archeron hurried to the door, with her daughter Isabella skipping excitedly behind her. The rest of the girls were already in the den, giggling and putting on plastic tiaras and costume jewellery.

“Ma, who is it? It’s Dari?” Isa asked, rocking on her feet, her already huge eyes lighting up with happiness.

“I don’t know, let’s see,” Elain smiled and opened the door.

She gasped and immediately stepped back. A veritable giant stood on her porch—a man so tall, he blocked out the sun. He was dressed in all black—black jeans, expensive by the look of them, stylish black boots, a thin black hoodie with the sleeves rolled up and showcasing powerful forearms covered in tattoos and extensive scars. Besides this whole ‘sexy/dangerous/brooding/hot’ package that he was presenting from the very get-go, the man was…breathtakingly beautiful.

Elain stared dumbly at him.

Who was this? And why was he here? And she had six girls in the house. And ohmagod what was she even wearing? And why was she worrying about that? And how was her hair? And was there a smear of icing or powdered sugar on her face? Who was he? Why was he so handsome? He looked like a cross between an Armani model and someone from the set of Sons of Anarchy. Tattoos? She didn’t even like tattoos! Why was she looking at a tattooed man?! Why did his tattoos extend to his neck and why did she want to see them when he was without his black t-shirt? And how can a t-shirt stretch like this over a man’s shoulders anyway? And for the love of god, why was there a Maybach parked in her driveway?!!?

Yes, that was a thing too now. A Maybach in front of her modest craftsman. It looked about as inconspicuous as a peacock in a chicken coop.

“Azriel,” the man said, his voice sexual and quiet.

“Yes.”

Yep, that’s what she went with. Yes. And then, she blurted out,

“I am not Azriel.”

“I would’ve guessed,” he smiled an amused smile that was breathtaking in its beauty.

Elain was literally hyperventilating.

The man’s gorgeous amber eyes regarded her slowly and thoroughly. Very, very thoroughly. He studied every inch of her, taking everything in, calculating and chronicling something in his mind as he looked her over.

What was she wearing?!?! She absolutely could not recall and couldn’t look down to check, because that would just be weird.

“I am Azriel,” he clarified.

“Okay.”

“Are you,” he paused for a second, “Isabella’s mother?”

Elain finally managed to snap out of her stupor and nodded, “I am. Can I help you?”

“We are here for the Princess Tea Party,” he explained, and it sounded as absurd as it looked. Elain attempted to translate what he was saying inside her head.

“Dari!” he called out. “Come here…Oh my god, why did you rip that poor flower?”

The next moment, a most comical looking kid bounded over. He was…big. He was probably half a head taller than Isa, though he looked like a big baby. He was portly in a baby sort of way and had puffy, soft cheeks and a gently rounded body. He was also…beautiful. Lovely colouring, huge dark eyes with thick, long lashes, and perfectly arranged features. Basically, he looked like Azriel. Unlike Azriel, he also looked like an escapee from the set of Peaky Blinders. He was sporting a white shirt, wore a bow tie (no less!), Burberry pants with suspenders, and a chequered flat cap. He was a tiny little English stud muffin from the 1920s. In one hand, he held a flower, which he clearly ripped out of Elain’s flower bed. In another, he held a paper bag from Whole Foods.

The moment was interrupted by Isabella, who yelled ‘Dari! You came to my party!’

It finally dawned on Elain and she gasped, “oh my god. I am so sorry. You are Dari?” she squatted in front of the boy and stroked his shoulder.

“Yeah, I Daris,” he announced and then handed Isabella the flower, while she rushed to give him a hug.

“Dari thank you!” she chirped, taking the flower, which still had the roots attached and was sprinkling soil on the floor.

“This for you, lady,” he then handed the Whole Foods bag to Elain and Isa dragged him by the hand to the den.

Which left Elain in an enviable and highly nerve-racking position of facing the ridiculously handsome Azriel.

“His name is Darius, by the way,” Azriel chuckled. “We are still working on it…him remembering what his name is.”

Elain snorted a laugh, and then choked back a mortified huff. Azriel smiled. He still hadn’t crossed the threshold and she scrambled to invite him in.

“Please. Forgive my manners.”

“We weren’t sure what the proper attire was for a Princess Tea Party, so,” Azriel explained, as he finally stepped inside the house.

“He is the most stylish baby I’ve ever seen,” Elain laughed. “I mean, he is wearing suspenders and a bow tie!”

“Please, if you hold your sanity dear, don’t call him a baby!” Azriel warned with mock horror. “He tells me multiple times a day that he is ‘very big’,” he made air quotes with his fingers.

“May I then say that he is seriously adorable and maybe the handsomest very big boy I’ve ever seen. Suppose he takes after his father,” at that, she laughed nervously, silently berating herself for her stupid big mouth. It’s been five minutes and she is already calling this man ‘handsome’. What was wrong with her? Why was she acting like a complete freak in his company?

Azriel politely ignored her words and dutifully followed her inside the house, taking in her nicely updated craftsman. The kitchen was open to the living room, and from there, they could see the den, where six girls and one boy were currently squealing, laughing and giggling.

She sat the bag that Darius gave her on the counter, and turned only to see Azriel propping himself against the refrigerator, arms crossed on his wide chest, a smile on his full, beautiful lips.

God his lips looked delicious.

And what the hell was wrong with her?

She couldn’t stop herself, before her eyes slid to his hands. Covered in scars, and absolutely massive, she couldn’t help but wonder what his touch would feel like, what the texture of his skin was like. Oh yeah, and no ring.

“I don’t mind calling you ‘Isa’s mom’ if you’d like me to,” he said with a smirk, “but I would like a name to go with the beautiful face.”

Elain stopped abruptly, actually freezing in place at his words. He thought that she was beautiful? He just…said it? He just told her that she was beautiful?

“Elain,” she whispered at last. “Without an E.”

He frowned and clarified, “so Lain?”

“No. Elain, no E at the end.”

“Ahhh, sorry. Nice to meet you, Elain without an E.”

She laughed nervously.

He ate up so much space, her whole house seemed smaller. He was like a demonic presence, only the handsomest and the tallest demonic presence ever. She simply could not stop looking at him. It was physically impossible to avert her eyes. So she forced herself to at least open the bag,

“We weren’t sure what to bring,” he told her, “so we settled on bakery cookies.”

“Oh god, I love bakery cookies,” she moaned. How did he know?! Bakery cookies were her favourite treat. The one thing she always craved and went back for. One of a few things that reminded her of her childhood. The happier days of her childhood.

“Oh, well, then you and Darius can bond over your love for bakery cookies. I didn’t mean to buy so much, but then he had some strong opinions on the subject, so here we are…” he opened his hands apologetically.

Elain laughed.

“Darius has great taste, I’ll give him that. But you shouldn’t have…”

“No, we really should’ve,” Azriel insisted. “Your house is very nice. Homey.” He looked around, and Elain blushed softly. She took great pride in her home, in how she decorated it, in its elegance and it pleased her that he saw it too, even if he probably was just trying to be nice. “We don’t have many friends,” he continued, “we recently moved here, so this is…well, this is the first Denver outing we’ve come to,”

Swallowing hard, Elain decided that minute that she needed to rip off the band aid.

“You and…your wife?” he asked, not looking at him and trying to act nonchalant, as she began arranging the cookies on the platter.

Meanwhile, in the den, the party was in full swing, with all toddlers apparently dancing to ‘Dancing in the Dark’.

Azriel chuckled and commented, “this is quite the eclectic playlist,”

Elain smiled, noticing that he’d avoided the question.

“Springsteen…and ABBA before that. And was it Prince that was playing when we came in?”

“Isa made the playlist. She is an old soul.”

“A beautiful soul,” Azriel said. “She was the one who took Darius under her wing on his first day at school. It…meant a lot to me,” his voice dropped and when Elain glanced at him, she saw vulnerability in his expression. A softness that she didn’t see before.

Smiling, Elain began arranging tiny pasties on a tri-level platter. “Can I confess something?”

“Sure,” he approached the counter and said, “and while you are laying it all out for me, why don’t I help you? All the other moms bailed I am guessing?”

“Oh yeah,” Elain seemingly just realised that the kids were dropped off with her, and the moms indeed all bailed. “I guess they did…You can help by arranging the sandwiches.”

She placed a tray of perfectly neat finger sandwiches in front of him. Azriel washed his hands and then set to work.

“I thought Dari was a girl,” Elain giggled. “I am sorry.”

He chuckled. “It’s alright. I figured. Not often boys get invited to a Princess Tea Party.”

“Isa didn’t tell me,” she glanced at the children, and added, “but it seems like they are getting on very well.”

Darius and Isa were holding hands and dancing together. The other girls were dancing around them, all decked out in fake jewels and tiaras.

“Yeah, he is not allergic to attention or anything,” Azriel agreed with a shake of his head, as he smirked to himself.

“Oh, I should’ve asked if there is something Darius doesn’t like,” Elain worried. “Is he allergic to anything?”

“Does he look like he doesn’t like something?” Azriel raised a brow at her and she snorted a laugh. “He eats everything. But only normal, grown-up food. None of that chicken nugget shit or fries. I like for him not to develop any bad habits,”

“I am the same with Isa! We’ve never been to a fast-food restaurant!” Elain exclaimed, surprised that they seemed to share the same philosophy about their children.

“Does this look okay?” Azriel asked, pointing at the neat row of sandwiches.

It was surprisingly easy being with him. Despite his intimidating gorgeousness, Elain didn’t feel any tension, other than her own instant and debilitating attraction to him. But she figured that he was used to attention—99.9% of world’s female population were probably attracted to him. Yet he was capable, fast, and absolutely adept at being in the kitchen. Efficient. Also, he smelled so enticingly, she needed to hold herself back and not try to sniff him and appear like she’d completely lost her mind. But she did. She’d never been attracted to anyone like this. It was instant and so powerful that it actually concerned her. It surely wasn’t healthy that she fought the urge to run her hands over his strong forearms, or that she wanted to press her lips to his beautiful neck. Or rub her cheek against his. Or do other things which she didn’t dare think about now.

He was the type of aggressively masculine handsome male, with an aura of danger and rebellion about him that most women dreamt of. When they were married to their quiet, slightly paunchy, slightly balding account manager or operations supervisor husbands, they dreamt that a man like Azriel would suddenly appear, fall madly in love with them and sweep them off their feet. So it was surreal to watch him arrange finger sandwiches in her kitchen.

“Perfect! There is iced tea in the fridge, if you can get it,” she requested. “And fill the teapot.”

“This really is a perfect little tea party,” he complimented her, as he followed her orders.

Everything was finally ready, and Elain set all the platters and the teapot, a bowl with cubed sugar, another with jam and clotted cream for the scones, on a large tray and Azriel stepped forward and said, ‘allow me’. For that, she was grateful, because the tray was heavy and laden with food, and she whispered ‘thank you’ as Azriel picked the whole thing up easily.

“The tea is served!” she announced, “take your seats!”

The seven hyper toddlers gathered around the low coffee table and squeaked with excitement when Azriel arrived with the treats. He and Elain placed everything on the table, and then poured everyone their tea.

Darius was bouncing in his seat, clapping his chubby hands together, his tongue hanging out like usual when he was excited.

“Hey big guy,” Azriel bent and kissed his son’s head. “Are you having a good time?”

“Dada! I love it so much,” Darius roared with sheer ecstatic delight. “This party is so good!”

“You treating the girls nicely? You are being a gentleman?”

Nodding his consent aggressively, Darius said, “I be nice and good. I like dance and it’s fun.”

Meanwhile, Elain was instructing in the correct way of partaking in the tea, and everyone listened with rapt attention.

“Sandwiches first. Scones next,” she said. “There is jam and cream, if you’d like. Finally, pastries and cookies. Everyone behave like proper ladies and a gentleman, alright?”

Darius immediately reached for the scone, but Azriel stooped next to him and wrapped his arm around his son’s body and whispered quietly into his ear, ‘Dari, remember how Elain said to start with the sandwiches? You should do that,”

“Dada, I don’t want sandwich!” Darius pouted. “I want cake.” He mistook the scone for cake, and already held a spoon heaping with clotted cream. He was clearly liking being independent and making his own decisions.

“I think you should start with the yummy sandwiches,” Azriel proposed. “There is delicious chicken salad in this one, and egg salad in this…and I think it would make Elain very happy if you tried them first,”

Darius looked up at Elain, who was watching his dad closely, and nodded, “oh, okay. Lain, you want me to eat sandwich?”

She smiled and nodded, “I would love for you to try my sandwiches, Dari.”

“Okay, I eat it then.”

Azriel took one of the linen napkins and tied it around Darius’s neck.

“Dada, I don’t want bip! Why I have to have it?!” his son protested and Elain couldn’t help but smile at his indignation.

Azriel immediately said, “oh, it’s not a bib, Dar. It’s a napkin—it’s a must for High Tea!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, totally.”

Elain helped out and stated, “Absolutely. You ought to wear a napkin for tea.”

That seemed to placate him, and he left the napkin in place.

Azriel mouthed ‘thank you’ to her and she gave him a nod of understanding.

The way Azriel was with his baby boy was incredible. It’s not just Elain watching an attractive man with a baby that was making her ovaries explode. It’s how Azriel made Darius feel—heard. Azriel didn’t order. He wasn’t impatient or annoyed. He was kind and loving and Elain was awed by their relationship. In just about one sentence, Azriel could convince Darius of what he wanted him to do without any pressure or anger, and Darius was pretty happy to do it.

What Elain didn’t expect was what happened next. Azriel kissed the top of Darius’s head, leaving the kids to their own devices, straightened, and suddenly, extended his hand to Elain. She just stood there, not sure of what she was supposed to do, but then he stepped towards her and took her by the hand, tugging her gently alongside him. Elain followed.

His hand was massive. It was rough with scars, the palm easily covering the entirety of her hand, the fingers long and strong.

“I know the other parents dumped the kids on you,” he said, his voice low, as they returned to the kitchen. “And fucked right out of here,”

At that Elain laughed. Azriel cursing was kind of…funny.

“But,” he moistened his lips, as if he was nervous for some reason. “Do you mind if I stay here? For the duration?”

He looked almost unsure of himself, which was in great contrast to how he generally came off.

Elain didn’t even know how to answer. She wanted to shout ‘yes, OF COURSE YOU CAN STAY!!!’ but she settled for a more reasonable, “of course.”

He pursed his lips for a moment and then sat down on the bar stool by the counter, and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

“I…” he sighed. “I feel like I should explain,”

“No, you don’t have to.”

But he proceeded to tell her, “I’ve never been apart from Darius.”

Elain blinked and exhaled a soft ‘oh’.

He continued, “To answer your earlier question, no, I don’t have a wife and he doesn’t have a mother. It’s just me and him. Always been. Therefore, I am the definition of what you would call a ‘helicopter father’. I’ve never been without him since he was born, and I can’t…” he swallowed. Hard. His voice was dry. “Darius is my life. I had a nervous breakdown earlier this week, when I sent him to school. I sat in the car for the three hours that he was there, because I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I don’t know why I am telling you this. You probably think that I am mental,”

“No,” Elain said firmly, reaching for him and placing her hand on his. “No. I don’t think that at all. And I am not just saying that either to placate you.”

He glanced at her, his gorgeous hazel-amber eyes shining with an untold emotion. But it was his hand beneath her that made her own breath quicken. He lightly drew his thumb back and forth over hers, touching her lightly.

Now it was her turn to swallow.

But she managed to say, “Love is complicated. People don’t seem to understand how complicated parental love is sometimes. Especially when you don’t have anyone else to share it with and it’s all on you. To be the sole provider of all the love and support and kindness to your child,”

“I guess there is no Mr. Elain Without an E at the End then,” Azriel huffed under his breath.

The comment made her blush, but she nodded curtly.

“There isn’t.”

He exhaled what could be described as a relieved sigh.

“You are pleased?” She challenged him.

He hummed to himself and said at last, “it’s not that I am pleased, per se. But I don’t hate the idea of you being single.”

Now breathless, Elain whispered, “why?”

There was a long pause.

The silence was interrupted by the exclamations, giggles and conversations taking place in the den. Sinatra was singing ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. The house smelled of pasty and lemons.

“Because you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he said at last, his eyes boring into hers. There was no pretence in his expression. No falseness.

“We’ve just met,” she mumbled, her heart beating so hard, she was sure that he could probably see it. “You can’t say such things to me.”

“Why not?” his gargantuan hand migrated from underneath hers on top of her palm, and he lightly stroked her pulse, and then her wrist with his fingers. “You are. Exceptionally beautiful. You aren’t what I expected to meet when I came here for the Princess Tea Party. Your lovely, kind daughter isn’t what I expected either. You are both kind and welcoming and funny.

“I’ve wasted a lot of fucking time, Elain. So much time spent on the wrong relationships, on women who didn’t deserve my attention, on people and things that brought me nothing in return, but took up a lot of space in my head and sucked out a lot of my energy.

“And then I got Darius and I realised that life’s too short for half-truths and waiting. So I am direct. You might not like that and I get it. But I am what I am. And if I think that you are beautiful, then you are.”

She stared at him, not knowing what to say. She was considered beautiful, it wasn’t exactly news, but she hasn’t been called that before. Not to her face, not by a man such as Azriel. Older people waxed poetic about her ‘pre-Raphaelite’ features. Her golden hair. Her expressive eyes. Her strawberry-and-cream complexion. However, modern men didn’t appreciate the delicacy of her features. They wanted the overly-done, spackled Instagram ‘influencers’. And Elain wasn’t that. Though she was an Instagram influencer.

“And you being single,” he continued, “opens up a world of possibilities for me.”

“What sort of possibilities?” she murmured, her heart pounding in her chest. Was he for real? Did he really find her…attractive? Desirable? It wasn't impossible, but it was so bizarre that she couldn’t really wrap her mind around the fact. Simply because Elain was never desired by anyone before.

He drummed his fingers on the counter and searched for some truth in her face, for something that only he was privy to. Naturally he avoided her question, like he did the marriage question before and she had a feeling that he’d answer it in due time.

“Do you want to eat?” he asked suddenly.

“Sorry?”

“Eat. Do you want to eat something? While our kids are gorging themselves on pastries, do you want to eat something more grownup? I can make us something,” he offered.

This was the most confusing man Elain’s ever met. He got up and went to the refrigerator, acting like he’s been here a million times before.

“What do you feel like?” he asked without looking at her. Then he turned around and said, “let me guess…” he seized her up, while she crossed her arms on her chest and stared down at him.

“I think…” he tsked, still considering something in his head, “I think you look like a girl who’d like a nice big salad with everything.”

Elain’s mouth popped open into a surprised ‘O’.

“How,” she began saying, but he cut in,

“How did I know that you’d like a nice salad? I have a gift, lovely Elain. I see things. Things that others miss,”

“What do you do?” she demanded, now worried that he was some unsavoury character who was trying to fleece her for information, though it was preposterous. He was driving a Maybach! What did she have that he could possibly want or need?

Meanwhile, Azriel began pulling out lettuces, herbs, a red pepper, jalapenos, scallions and olives from the fridge.

“I mean, are you going to tell me that I am wrong?” he teased, as he piled the greens on the counter, “you have four varieties of lettuce, you have a daikon radish, you have two…no, three bags of various kale, what the hell is that? Spirulina?! Who has spirulina powder?!”

“I have spirulina!” she almost shouted, but he was laughing.

“Oh, chill, beautiful, I love the variety!” He then grabbed tomatoes, a jar of hearts of palm, and a bag of shelled edamame from the freezer, as well as a bunch of radishes. “I mean daikon? Seriously?!”

“I love daikon!” she exclaimed.

“Clearly…”

Still pouting at his humorous critique, she nevertheless got up and went to the walk-in pantry, before returning a minute later with a large platter.

And all the while, she’s been thinking about how he called her ‘beautiful’. Like it was the most natural thing for him to say. Like he actually thought that and meant it.

“Do you always come to strangers’ homes and start cooking for them?” she inquired tartly, though she definitely didn’t mind watching him take his hoodie off and expose his monstrously gorgeous physique to her in his form-fitting black t-shirt.

“No,” he said simply, as he lined a cucumber on the cutting board and diced it like a professional chef–fast, with precise, perfect movements, which produced perfectly uniform cubes of cucumber. “But then you aren’t a stranger. And I don’t want to be a stranger to you.” He looked up from the cutting board and his luminous eyes bored into hers. “And I think it’s quite normal for a man to want to feed his woman,”

His woman?!?!

Internally screaming, Elain was now panting like a golden retriever. She had no words. Just emotions.

His woman.

His. Woman.

What?

How did she become his woman?

Oh, and the bastard knew that he was completely throwing her, judging by his indecently sexy smirk, as he began on the radishes, but he played it so cool…just so cool, and continued as if he didn’t just say something totally outrageous.

“You know, we’ve been killing mammoths back in the day,”

“Of course, and you remember, huh?” she finally managed to ask.

“I remember that it’s my pleasure and honour to provide you with a little sustenance. Why the veg though?” Now he was curious.

Elain, discombobulated emotionally and psychologically, needed a moment to gather herself and her thoughts. He was giving her the biggest whiplash of her life.

He went from stroking her hand, to calling her ‘beautiful’ as an endearment, to telling her she was his woman, to now raiding her fridge and making them a salad all in a span of less than 20 minutes.

This was more excitement than she’d experienced in the past 3 years!

She looked down, her hands cupped on her lap. She finally recalled what she was wearing–a pretty white boho dress with some white embroidery and a generously revealing neckline. Okay, she didn’t know that he would storm into her life and turn it upside down when she was dressing for the tea party. But it also didn’t escape her entirely that he admired her dress and perhaps some other things more than once.

“I was an overweight child–which in my mother’s eyes was the greatest sin imaginable–while my two sisters were willow thin. Up until I was about fifteen, my relationship with food was messy, mostly because of the fat shaming that my mother subjected me to,”

Azriel did not pause his slicing and dicing, but his brow was deeply furrowed with a grim expression. He didn’t comment though. And Elain didn't know why she was telling him these personal, painful things.

“Anyway,” she shrugged it off, and concluded, “I decided that I wanted to change my attitude towards food. I no longer wanted to punish or reward myself with it. I simply wanted to eat and be healthy. And I discovered that I loved vegetables. Changing how I ate, how I thought, how I viewed myself gave me a new outlook on life–vegetables, fruits, sunshine, walks, gardening–it gave me energy, strength, and a better attitude.

“And when I had my daughter, I swore that I’d instil her with confidence and a much brighter and healthier relationship with food.”

Azriel dumped the first batch of sliced and chopped veggies into the bowl, and began on the rest of the ingredients. The salad was already looking mouthwatering.

“The veggies paid off,” he said at last, looking at her. “You are stunning.”

At that, Elain gasped and he smiled at her.

“Please don’t bother protesting,” he ordered.

She slapped her hands on the counter, and then announced sternly, “Okay, I can’t take anymore compliments!”

Azriel barked a loud and amused laugh.

“You’ve reached your compliments quota, beautiful?”

“Tell me about Darius,” she demanded, ignoring the ‘beautiful’ quip.

“Darius? What do you want to know? He is not exactly very complicated,” Azriel chuckled.

Elain insisted though. “No. I want to know about you and Darius. What happened to his mother? Where is she? Tell me.”

Azriel hummed and Elain wondered if she’d pushed him too far. She really had no right to ask him personal questions. He’d asked her about vegetables and she then suddenly developed verbal and emotional diarrhoea. It wasn’t his fault that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. But she didn’t have to ask him about his kid.

“Where she is,” he suddenly answered, “I have no idea.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed, remembering something and then said,

“Honestly, when I said that Darius is my son, I meant it. He is mine. He is my baby, my friend, my son. It’s me and him. There is no mother,”

“Oh, was he born via a surrogate?” it dawned on Elain that that might have been the case, but Azriel shook his head and huffed a bitter sort of snort.

“No. Not at all. His mother is a famous model–now more known with her erratic behaviour and alcohol binges than her career–but when I knew her, she was in her prime. We had a very, and I mean, very fleeting relationship,”

He began salting the salad, squeezing lemon all over, swishing a healthy helping of olive oil on top and then began tossing it with two spoons.

“I don’t know…I hardly even remember hooking up with her,” he admitted and that made Elain squirm in her seat a bit. Azriel talking so openly about his sex life was unsettling. It also made something pinch inside her chest. Something unpleasant and sharp.

Jealousy.

She had no right to be jealous, and it was an irrational feeling towards a man she just met, but she couldn’t help herself.

“I dunno,” he leaned on his elbows and propped his cheek, thinking. “Like I said, there isn’t much to say. One day–it was Wednesday, I remember that very well–my doorbell rang. I went to open it, and there she stood, with a tiny bundle in her arms. It was late April, but fucking cold outside, and all I saw was this tiny bare foot that poked out of the blanket. And then a bare arm. And I was horrified that this kid wasn’t dressed for the weather.”

There was a touch of anger in his voice, but he pushed it down and then said,

“She literally handed me this bundle with a child in it and said that it was mine and he was three days old. She apparently came straight from the hospital? I am not sure why he wasn’t dressed better, but whatever. She told me that she couldn’t take care of ‘it’--she kept calling him ‘it’--and then she simply turned around and walked away. Oh, and she handed me his birth certificate. He was nameless too.

“That was a weird Wednesday,” he chuckled dryly.

Elain stared at him, horrified. This was the most insane story, considering that he and this mysterious model weren’t even in a relationship.

“And? Then what?” she whispered, her hand covering her mouth.

“And then what?” Azriel’s massive shoulders moved in another shrug, and then he straightened and expelled a heavy sight. “What do you think? Got a bit of a mental walloping. That’s some mindfuck, when someone suddenly hands you a baby! And says good luck. I didn’t even know the sex! I had no diapers, no formula, no clothes, no place for him to sleep–ah, I finally discovered that he was a he–no wipes, and oh, no freakin’ name! And I didn’t actually know that he was in fact mine. Plates?”

“What?”

“Where are the plates? It’s time to eat,”

She pointed to a cupboard, but also snapped, “you can’t just leave me hanging here! Tell me the rest of the story! Come on,”

He seemed entertained by her demands, and said, “well, if I tell you my story, you tell me yours too.”

“Fine! Not much to tell,” she muttered.

He looked at her, brow raised in a dare, and said, “you are absolutely telling me the story. And why someone like you isn’t taken. You legit have the perfect little house, with white trim and shutters, this perfect kitchen, perfect floors, and a white picket fence. Where is Mr. Perfect then? Not to mention that you have the most perfect beauty of a daughter!”

Elain smiled shyly and looked out to the den. From this angle, she could see Isa–her sweet, actually perfect little girl. Isa, with her pretty ringlets and her gorgeous soulful eyes, was someone who had the biggest heart and truly was one of the best people she knew. It wasn’t because Isa was her daughter–some kids were assholes and their age didn’t prevent them from being that. But Isa was curious and smart, giving and friendly. Even without asking, Elain knew that Isa took it upon herself to befriend little Darius, and made him feel welcome in their school. Darius seemed like someone who could stand up for himself–his size alone would probably intimidate any bratty kid–but he was also young and innocent, and truly was still more of a baby than a child. He didn’t even know how to speak properly yet. And Elain figured that Isa wouldn’t let anyone hurt him.

“How did you get on with raising him?” she inquired at last.

Azriel meanwhile piled a good amount of salad onto a plate, and then speared his fork through it. Elain was a little surprised, and yes, miffed, that he didn’t give her any, but then she shouldn’t have expected him to serve her. He already cooked! That was enough.

Azriel stepped closer to her, but didn’t sit down, and towered over her, as he thrust the fork towards her mouth and whispered, “open up”.

Bewildered by the request, Elain just stared at him, completely confused.

“Come on,” he prompted her, pushing the salad against her slightly parted lips. She opened up and he pushed the salad inside, and smiled, watching her chew.

“What are you doing?” she asked at last, once she swallowed. This salad was freakin’ amazing! It was delicious. Perfectly dressed, with a delectable combination of textures and flavours.

“Feeding you,” he said simply and then took a bite of the salad himself, from the same plate, not changing forks or anything.

“Why?” she asked, feeling hot and bothered, and…sexual. Why was she so bothered by him? He was not the first man she’d ever come in contact with, but even despite his blatantly indescribable attractiveness this felt different somehow. It felt like a possibility. And Elain wasn't sure what to make of it. What exactly was she hoping for here? “I can feed myself, you know,” she added tersely.

“I am aware,” his tone was the same–calm and reasonable–”but I like the idea of feeding my woman.”

With that, he fed her another mouthful of salad, and she barely avoided choking on it.

“Your woman?” she repeated, her cheeks heating, her hands trembling on her lap. “Since when exactly did I become your woman?”

“You haven’t yet,” he answered patiently. “But I am hoping that that’s where this is leading. For now, though, you will be my good girl and let me feed you. Now, open up,”

The words ‘good girl’ scrambled Elain’s insides into an absolute frenzy–there was fluttering, squeezing, palpitations, achy feels between her legs, and all sorts of engorgements…in various parts of her body. And the bastard knew and saw it all, judging by the satisfied, salacious smirk on his disgustingly perfect lips.

This was either the worst or the best Princess Tea Party in history. Elain wasn’t sure which one it was. She also didn’t know what to do with this man. Was he everything that she’d ever dreamed of and hoped for? Probably. But now, faced with an actual man of her dreams, she was stumped. She wished that her sister Nesta was here to help out and try to figure this out, and what her next steps should be, but she was all alone facing this sublime beast of a male.

But, no…

Azriel leaned back on his forearms on the counter, eating lazily, and feeding her, though he still towered over her, even in this position. There was something dominating about his stance, but Elain didn’t find it in herself to care. He also didn’t seem to expect an answer from her��he simply fed them both, and then went back to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of Pinot Grigio and poured them both a glass.

“Dada! Dada!” they heard the familiar call, and the next moment, Darius sprinted into the kitchen, his face smeared with chocolate and jam, his black curls kind of wild atop of his round head.

He stopped and then extended his chunky hands, a small cake in each palm.

“Dada, I bringed cakes for you,” he explained. “And Lain too. You eat it,” he nudged them, and then dropped the cakes into their outstretched hands.

“Aww thanks big guy,” Azriel said softly, “you are the best boy.”

“Yeah,” Darius accepted the praise easily and didn’t argue. He was the best boy.

He stood on his toes and tried to see what the adults were eating.

“What you eat, dada?” he demanded.

“Salad,” Azriel said, and then offered, “you want some?”

Darius made a face and shook his head no.

“No, dada, no salad,” he frowned. “I don’t like it.”

“I figured,” Azriel chuckled and then fed some more to Elain. Darius observed them both, his head cocked to the side, watching.

“Lain, you love salad?”

“I do. Your dada made a very very delicious salad for us,” Elain said, while Azriel stepped closer to her and she was just about overwhelmed by the scent of masculine pheromones in the air. He smelled of cedar, sharp and crisp, and there was something so attractive about the scent of his skin that she fought the urge to moan out loud. It absolutely didn’t help that Azriel’s finger lightly skimmed over the side of her neck. Leisurely and with strange familiarity, as if he’d done this a million times before with her.

“Yeah, dada always make good stuffs,” Darius agreed, and Elain held herself together by a thin thread, trying not to alarm a toddler while she was mentally lusting over his father.

“How’s it going with you guys there?” Azriel asked.

“Is good!” Darius reported enthusiastically. “We eated all cakes and stuffs, I want milk and we gonna watch a movie.”

“Ahhh…got it. Can you ask Elain nicely for milk? And may I wash your face?”

“Oh, sorry Lain. Can I have milk please?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” she got up and poured him a glass of milk, while Azriel grabbed him under his arm and dangled him over the sink.

“I flied!” Darius yelled, spreading his arms, while Azriel tried to stifle a laugh at his antics, and Elain filled her palm with water and began washing Darius’s sticky face.

“Thank you,” Azriel whispered, while Darius attempted to thrust his arms under the faucet.

“Why are you so jacked up? No more sugar for you,” he warned his son. “Quiet time with the movie.”

“Yeah, I want movie,” Darius agreed. “Do plane, dada!”

Azriel sighed, while Elain laughed at the two of them and chased Darius’s face with a paper towel to wipe him clean and dry. Then Azriel lifted Darius with one arm all the way above his head, and Darius screeched loudly with excitement, as he flapped his arms.

All this commotion called the rest of the children to the kitchen, and Isa watched ‘the plane’ enviously, before saying, “I want this too!”

Azriel put Darius down and said, “Alright. I’ll give everyone a plane ride, while we get the movie going.”

“They can watch ‘Cinderella’ or ‘Snow White’,” Elain told him, while he lifted Isa high above his head and she yelled and hooted with delight screaming ‘mama, look at me!’ Everyone headed back to the den, and Elain watched Azriel with her daughter and it did something to her. Despite his size and his somewhat menacing appearance, Azriel was such a gentle man. He was incredibly thoughtful and good with children, and they seemed to trust him instantly. But there was something wild and untamed about him as well. Like he’d never been in the company of a female who domesticated him a bit.

“Lain,” Darius tugged on her skirt, and she looked down, and stroked her fingers through his hair. “Do you want hug?” he offered. “I give good hug. Dada say and Cass too.”

She grinned and nodded, “Yes, Dari, I’d love a good hug from you.”

“Oh good!” he opened his arms and she squatted, and he immediately threw his fatty arms around her neck. She wrapped him in her embrace and sat down, with him straddling her.

“Who is Cass?” she asked, gently rubbing his back, as he tucked into her body and pressed his face between her breasts.

“Cass is uncle,” he said, and then exhaled deeply, settling in for a hug.

Elain rocked him slowly on her lap, enjoying his (substantial) weight and his solid sturdiness. He was so much denser than Isa, yet she loved that he was still a baby. Elain loved babies and once in her life imagined that she’d have a large family–four, maybe five, children–a husband who’d love her and whom she’d adore. But none of it happened. Nothing’s happened the way she planned.

She pressed her cheek to Darius’s head and hugged him a little tighter. For some reason, her own failures made her sad. She was a lifegiver by nature–she loved children, baking, gardening, she loved watching things grow: flowers, plants, herbs and even bread. She loved to experience the mystery of creation, loved watching things blossom and grow and come to life. Even despite all the challenges, she loved her pregnancy, loved giving birth to Isabella and nurturing her every day of her life.

“Dari, what does your dad do?” Elain asked.

Darius thought for a moment and then said, “Dada make pictures.”

‘He makes pictures?” she repeated, a little uncertain about what he meant. “Like an artist?”

“I dunno,” Darius admitted with a sigh.

“No,” they heard Azriel’s voice. “I am a photographer.”

Elain looked up, lifting her cheek from Darius’s head and saw Azriel standing in the doorway, his arms folded on his chest. But it was his gaze that jolted her. His eyes were hungry. Ravenous. Like he was looking at his next meal. Elain froze under that gaze: the way his hazel eyes devoured her. Devoured her with his son in her lap.

“Well, I stepped away for ten minutes and he certainly found a way to make himself very comfortable.”

Darius didn’t even turn his head, firmly attached to every curve of Elain’s body.

“He wanted to give me a hug,” Elain explained.

“I bet he did,” Azriel chuckled. “I’d like to give you a hug too…”

He winked at her and Elain blushed as usual, because she did that a lot with him. Seemed to her that the kind of hugs Azriel wanted from her involved a lot less clothing and a lot more…hugging. Though she couldn’t say that she hadn't imagined how those huge scarred hands would feel on her naked skin–about a dozen times now.

“You wanna give Lain hug, dada?”

“I would. Run and watch the movie with the girls, big guy. It just started.”

“But I wanna be with Lain,” Darius protested, pouting. Then he finally tore his head away from her chest and looked up at her, “Lain, you wanna be with me?”

She stroked his soft fluffy cheek and kissed his little hand,

“I do, Dari. I like you very much, sweet boy.”

“Yeah? I like too, Lain. You and Isa. I like a lot.”

Then he finally climbed off her lap and rushed back to the den.

Azriel watched him, and then his eyes transferred back to Elain. He rubbed his chin and drew his thumb over his lower lip.

“Forgive him. He has no experience with women at all.”

“I understand. And it’s no problem. I already adore him,” she admitted. “And I want to give him hugs and kisses. He is too cute.”

“He is cute,” Azriel agreed. “My heart. Life of my life.”

Azriel moved smoothly, walking to the electric kettle and turning it on. Then he took out a couple of tea cups and set them on the counter.

“I have a few questions,” he said, busying himself with tea. His voice was firm, with a touch of demand in it. “And I’d like for you to answer them truthfully.”

“O-kay,” Elain allowed, squeezing her laced fingers together.

Azriel poured hot water over the loose tea leaves in a pretty English teapot and brought it to the counter. He sat down and stretched his long, muscular legs before him, relaxing into the back of the chair.

“Relax,” he told her.

“I haven’t been relaxed since you stepped into my house,” she blurted out.

“Why? Do I make you uncomfortable?” He looked serious, and a bit tense now.

She shook her head, “no. Not uncomfortable.”

“What then?”

“Confused.”

He didn’t respond and then poured them both tea, once it steeped long enough.

“You know how to make tea,” she commented, sort of puzzled by that. How would a man like this know how to make a proper cup of tea?

“Lived in London for almost four years,” he explained. “Learned there.”

Well, that explained it.

“Why are you confused?” he pushed.

“You are confounding,” Elain sipped her tea, trying to find something to do with her hands and being grateful for the cup.

“In what way?”

“Your manner…the way you seem to dominate the space around you. The way you are with me.”

“How am I with you?” he pressed, drumming his fingers slowly on the white quartz, his eyes never leaving her face.

“I am not sure. But unlike any man before. You are forward and challenging. But also thrilling. And I don’t know how to deal with you. I…I am not,” she sipped again, now burning her mouth, but terrified of admitting her truths to him.

“You’ve been dealing with me very well up to now,” he argued.

“Yet inside, I am dazed and confused.”

Suddenly, he reached towards her and his enormous, warm, rough palm cupped her cheek. She stiffened in place, almost clutching at the edge of the counter, but she didn’t want to look too dramatic.

“You don’t need to be confused. But I like that you are dazed,” he murmured, lightly brushing his thumb over her cheekbone. “God you are so fucking beautiful…” he gasped, as if disbeliving that fact. “I’d love to kiss you.”

She was feeling faint. Truly, if she was going to collapse now and faint like some 19th century damsel, she wouldn’t be surprised.

Who said things like these?!?!

“I…what? No. No, you can’t.”

“Why?” he inquired, his brow furrowed.

“I,” she felt like she was hyperventilating.

“Is there a man in the picture?” he asked then, his tone dry.

“No. No man.”

He smiled a quick, pleased smile.

“Then that’s good.”

Elain didn’t bother asking him about a woman in his life. It didn't seem like he had one. And his comment about Darius not being used to women only confirmed that. But, that wasn’t enough.

“What I am trying to say,” she whispered, while he still held her face in his palm, and his touch was gentle and warm, as he listened attentively, and in the background Gus the Mouse was singing a song, “is that I’m not experienced. Not at all,” she hurried, wishing to get this out. “I am…I don’t have experience with men. I am not experienced with sex. I don’t know how to do this,” she waved her hand between their bodies. “This fancy banter. This…You! I don’t know how to do you,”

“You can do me very easily,” he chuckled a husky, sexy chuckle. “I’d love for you to do me.”

“No, no!” she slapped his other hand in frustration. “You think I am kidding, but I am not! I am not kinky,”

“I didn’t say I was kinky,” he reminded her with that impossible smirk of his. “Why did you assume I was kinky? And what’s kinky, exactly?”

“That’s the thing!” she exclaimed in frustration. “I don’t know! I have Isa and my business, and that’s it. I don’t know the modern lingo. I don’t know what people are into. I am not into spanking and choking,”

“Seems like you do know what people are into,” he teased.

“I only know a little because I read books,”

“Naughty books, it seems like,”

But at last, he dropped his hand from her face, and she thought that he was annoyed with her, but he only covered her hands with his and squeezed lightly.

“Calm down and breathe.”

Elain realised that she was panting loudly, and she felt extremely hot. She was sweating beneath her dress, and her hands were shaking.

“Elain, please,” he said kindly. “Please…I am sorry if I’ve upset you. It’s not my intention at all. But you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,”

“I’ve only had sex once,” she shot out in one breath.

He had no visible reaction for a few seconds. Then, confusion. Then, he asked,

“You mean…wait…what do you mean? You,”

“Basically a virgin,” she admitted bitterly, hanging her head.

They were both silent for a few moments, before she continued,

“I was a senior in university–twenty-one years old. Almost twenty-two. Never had a real boyfriend. Never even been kissed other than by Bobby Sands when we were nine. And don’t tell me that I am ‘pretty and how could that be’,” she warned him.

“But you are pretty and how could that be?” he said immediately and she smiled weakly at him. He was smiling back.

“Anyway, I went to a party and met this guy Graysen Nolan–I mean, I knew who he was–he was a football superstar. He was the quarterback for the Buffaloes and he was at the party and he was paying me attention. Like, a lot of attention. And he was laughing with me and joking, and telling stories and slipping me Margaritas,”

“Did he rape you?” Azriel’s tone was deadly, and Elain saw that moment in his expression that he was capable of some dark deeds.

“No,” she shook her head no. “I was willing. I mean, I don’t know–he wasn’t violent. He wasn’t mean. But I was drunk. I mean, I guess I consented. I am not sure…”

“So he took advantage of you at the very least.”

“Yes. And he also took my virginity. Which I don’t even remember happening, or feeling it. I don’t even know if he took it entirely, to be honest. And he didn’t use a condom. And because I was a hopeless virgin, I wasn’t on any kind of birth control. And I guess I was too stupid to go to Walgreens the next day and get Plan B. Then three weeks later, I realised that my period was late. And late. And I was terrified, because things like these don’t happen, right? They don’t happen to good girls who are virgins. It couldn’t happen to me. I went and I got a pregnancy test and it was positive.”

“And you kept her,” Azriel said simply.

“I considered it. I really did. I considered getting an abortion and just chucking it off to a bad, drunk decision in college. But then I also always wanted to be a mother and as I thought about it, I was more and more petrified that somehow, I was given this option and if I didn’t take it, I might ever have it again. Looking back, it seems very juvenile…almost religious. And I am not religious at all.

“I think deep down, I just wanted to have her. I don’t think I could ever actually go through with an abortion.

“And as difficult as it’s been at times, I never regretted my decision. Never. I never thought what my life would have been without her…it just wasn’t an option any longer. And in some ways, some doors closed for me, but others opened. I became a caterer, and now I have a side business that does flowers as well, and I am doing…pretty good. Financially, I am more successful than I thought I would be.

“I started with making cakes and cupcakes and children’s parties and birthdays and anniversaries and then I began expanding further, and I have a hugely successful Instagram account, with recipes and videos. And that led to paid sponsorships and advertisements. So I don’t know how, but somewhere along the way, I became successful.

“But when I say that I am inexperienced, I mean it. I’ve only had sex once. And I got pregnant. And I’ve never been with a man since.”

He was back leaning in his chair, watching her, lightly licking his lower lip.

“So,” he said at last, “I have a question for you.”

Elain wiped her brow with her hand, feeling raw and exposed.

This was definitely the worst Princess Tea Party in history. Definitely.

“Yeah?” she breathed.

“Do you find me attractive?”

The question was not what she was expecting. Shocker. The least shocking thing about this was that he shocked her.

“I…what? Why are you asking me this?” she demanded.

“It’s a simple question,” he said calmly. “Am I attractive to you?”

YES. 10000% yes.

“Everyone would find you attractive,” she said instead.

“That wasn’t the question,” he reminded her.

He poured himself more wine from the open bottle and sipped it slowly.

“Because I find you very attractive. Beautiful, in fact. And I’d like to kiss you, at the very least,”

“No,” she gasped. “You can’t kiss me!”

He bobbed his head side to side, and then decided,

“Okay. Well, if you won’t let me kiss you, then can you climb on my lap so I can finger you until you come. Because I really, really want to watch you come.

“I think you’d come beautifully for me. And maybe then I can kiss you.”

The thundering shock that roiled the entirety of Elain’s body was unlike anything she'd experienced before. Because that could not be what she just heard. He could not have said these words.

She murmured, absolutely floored, “you did not just say this to me.”

“Oh no, I definitely did,” he insisted, without taking his crazy eyes off of her.

That’s what it was. He must have been insane. There was no other explanation.

“I did say it,” he repeated with that maddening calmness of his. “Because from the moment I saw you, I wanted to watch you come for me. Usually I am not this forward,”

“I find that hard to believe!” she hissed hysterically, but he ignored her,

“But I feel like you are a little sad, probably tired, and doing your best. And you haven’t been loved, or admired for a long time. And you deserve it. So, climb on my lap, while they watch the cartoon, and I will make you come.

“I am good at it,” he assured her needlessly.

“Oh, oh, oh,” she was trying to form a thought and failing miserably. “I am sure you are!”

“I am,” he confirmed. “If you prefer, I will gladly eat your pussy, which I am sure is as sweet as a strawberry…though for that, maybe we should go to the bathroom?”

Elain was shaking her head mutely.

She was lost. And her ability to speak was gone. As was her ability to think.

Who dared say such things to someone they just met?

“Well, Mr…I am sorry, I don’t know your last name,” she said, her voice trembling with tension and embarrassment.

“Night,” he offered sweetly.

“Of course. Mr. Night. This has been a very entertaining day. I’ve enjoyed meeting you, I think. But no, I will not sit on your lap and allow you to do…all that,” she waved her hand, refusing to actually repeat his words.

“I apologise if I embarrassed you,” he said seriously. “It was not my intention.”

She pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

“Truly, Elain, I guess I am sorry.”

She huffed, “You guess?”

“I mean, I am not sorry at all, but I suppose it’s the right thing to say under the circumstances. I am supposed to be contrite,”

Elain threw her hands up in the air helplessly.

“Why are you so weird?!” she cried out. “Do you just say the first thing that comes into your head and you have zero self-control?”

“I have plenty of self-control,” he argued. “I am not presently bending you over the counter and filling you with my dick. No matter how much I want to. No matter how much you want to.”

“I don’t want that!” she argued, but her voice came out kind of breathy.

“Okay. But you are lying. And maybe scared. But you definitely have given it some serious thought. I don't know much, but I do know when a woman wants me.”

He got up from the chair and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Here it is–I want you. Like, a lot. The way I haven’t wanted anyone probably ever. And if I am reading you right, and I think that I am, you want me too. But, now that I understand a little more about your background, I imagine that you’d prefer a relationship, as opposed to just a sweaty, hot, passionate fuck.”

Elain just blinked at him, while he continued,

“But I am not going to pressure you or go all crazy stalker on you.”

“Thank you?”

“Don’t thank me yet. Darius and I go for a walk in Wash Park, around the pond, every night at around 5:15pm. I get him nice and tired out for dinner and then hopefully, it will be quiet time for the night.

“Anyway, like I said, I am not going to pressure you into anything. But if you want to see me again–see us–then hopefully you and Isa will come and join us for a walk. And then we’ll go back to my place and I’ll cook dinner. And then, you can stay over. Or not.

“Like I said, I am not one to waste time.”

The movie was almost over, and Elain got up, straightening her dress.

Azriel stayed behind in the kitchen, watching her from his spot.

“Hey guys!” Elain greeted them. “Did you have so much fun?”

“Yes! Yes!”

“Well, I have a little parting gift for all of you,” she took something out from a little bag and announced, “friendship bracelets! You seven are all friends now, so choose a bracelet that you want to give your new friend.”

Little Darius got really confused by the instructions, taking a bracelet for himself, which he did not want to give up, and then someone else wanted it, so there was a decent amount of fighting that descended into tears.

Elain caught Azriel’s amused grin, as he watched the commotion, while cleaning up in the kitchen. He wasn’t helping her calm the masses, but he was washing the dishes, which was just as good.

At last, Isa gave Darius his bracelet and he was placated. Elain took his delightfully fat arm and wrapped the bracelet over the fold around his wrist. He was watching intently as she lined the clasps and closed the bracelet on his hand.

“Dada!” came the familiar call, and Darius took off, waving his arm around. “Dada! Look at! You love it? Isa give it to me.”

“This is a great friendship bracelet.” Azriel approved. “Who did you give yours to?”

“Tay!”

“Did she like it?”

“Yeah,” Darius nodded, twisting his hand and admiring his bracelet. “Now I have many friends.”

Moms started coming over right about then, to pick up their daughters. They all, without fail, gave Azriel curious, somewhat frightened, but very intrigued looks.

Meanwhile, Darius began cleaning up after the party, gathering all the spoons and forks, and bringing them to the kitchen without being prompted. Isabella followed suit, getting the cups, two at a time, while Darius returned to the den, and stacked the saucers and the plates in neat piles, tongue hanging out from concentration, while he stopped once in a while to admire his bracelet.

“Your son is unreal,” Elain whispered as she passed Azriel.

He chuckled.

“What is he even? A damn miracle kid,” she continued, though she avoided any other topics of conversation, especially those of a more intimate nature, and only stuck to admiring the adorable toddler.

Azriel was washing the dishes methodically, his inked forearms wet and glistening, and somehow, extra attractive right now.

“He does chores,” he said, while Darius ambled with three plates in his hands. “Somewhat badly, but he does them.”

“I think he does them perfectly!” Elain announced firmly.

Once the dishes were washed, dried and put away, Azriel wiped his hands and called, “Dar, time to go, buddy.”

“We can’t stay, da?” Darius asked sadly.

“I think we need to let Elain rest. She’s been working really hard and made this gorgeous party for you guys.”

“Yes! Thank you, Lain!” Darius yelled.

“You are welcome, sweet boy,” Elain stroked his head. “Go get your cap.”

“No friendship bracelet for me?” Azriel’s low, sexual voice was suddenly right behind her, and Elain jumped, realising that he was standing behind her. His face dipped lower and his nose made a long, gentle swipe along her cheek.

Heart pounding, she felt her nipples harden and Azriel’s proximity made her pant-y. She was stifling the urgent need to moan.

“I have one for you,” he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear softly. Then he reached and took her wrist in his huge hand, before slipping a plain silver band from his wrist, and closing it over hers. He wore a bunch of bracelets��mostly silver, some leather, some linked and knotted, others just bands, and this one was from his collection.

“Very nice,” he admired his bracelet on her hand and then stepped around, facing her.

They looked at each other for a long moment, his eyes hooded and warm.

He slowly lifted his hands and cupped her face between them.

“I was honest when I said that I would not push you,” he murmured huskily. “But until you tell me ‘no’ and until I hear it from your own lips that you are not interested, I will remain as into you as I am right now. Infatuated. Flabbergasted. You brought me to my knees without even trying. And until you tell me otherwise, I would want to fuck you and make you mine. I promise you that your tight little pussy will be mine. And this fucking glorious ass. And your pink mouth, which looks like a half-open tulip. I want every hole. Every crevice. Every damn fucking bit of you, down to your soul. And I will have it. Because we’ve been written in the stars, baby.”

He looked down at her, and just when Elain thought that he was going to kiss her, he softly pressed his lips to her forehead and then let go of her.

Darius arrived with his flat cap on his head and then he took Azriel’s hand.

“Bye Lain! Bye Isa. You be good.”

Elain, who could barely breathe since Azriel’s wildly inappropriate and heated words, only managed to nod, as she watched the father and son open the door and walk out.

To be continued

#elriel #elain archeron #azriel #azriel and elain #elain #pro elriel #elain x azriel #elainarcheronweek2023 #elainarcheronweek #Princess Tea Party #Elriel fanfiction #Elain Archeron fanfiction #ACOTAR fanfic #Modern AU

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jc4ltm · 4 months ago

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Six Days - [3.1] - Leviticus / Vayikra

My mind was just thumping, raging even, as I stared out into that field where about thirty seconds ago, two large men were and then vanished. My head, killing me as it was, made it impossible to think straight as I realized that I now must understand why I am technically in league with the Devil. I am not exactly a good Christian girl, but I am far from being a mortal sinner either, I have been to enough Sunday School classes to know that it takes a lot more than pre-marital sex to become friends with Satan. I did give myself a bit of the giggles as I thought over the fact that Satan should have come to see me about the pre-marital sex over 15 years ago anyway, because that was the last time I had had any. Nothing passes the smell test anymore really, so I do not know anything and am at least willing to admit it.

I now have some time to reflect on my experiences and consider them in a broader context. It is necessary for me to reconsider my theological understanding. I need to recognize the possibility that God may be perceived as a woman. Additionally, the Devil may be viewed as an exceptionally beautiful man who claims to be no different from any other angel and may not lie, while adhering to certain cosmic rules. This perspective aligns with his explanation of omnipotence, although the concept still has certain limitations. Recalling these thoughts remains mentally challenging.

My mind finally wandered to the things that I need to think about like the window that I assume is going to blow in on my house any minute now. The rips in the fabric of time should be the next thing I ask my new friend about if I ever see him again, but realistically I do not even think I can assume that I will not see him again. It is just too easy to assume that he is in the process of catching this Darius character and dragging his ass to Hell or whatever it is he intends to do with him. My newfound enlightenment is far from an easy maneuver and of course as I said before it just makes my head hurt. I know how Lou feels when he must try to understand something that he does not understand. Perhaps, his brain only has so much room just like mine seems to feel like. Then again, his brain holds a lot more than mine does. You must love the humor of these things and again I settle into my newfound, understood, and accepted level of insanity as I laugh to my feet.

I am starting that walk home from the park now, but my legs are total gelatin from the feeling that I had sat on that bench for twelve hours at least. I had been and my lapses in time are merely delusional blackouts. That helps explain my new friendships these days. Well, we never talked over whether we were friends or not so that could be a little presumption on my part. Even I could not be so lucky to think now that I am going to wake up from all of this, because I can already feel that I am locked into something epic. Someday the next JRR Tolkien could write this, but as you all are stuck with me writing this instead, probably not. As I write this now, I feel my brain expanding so perhaps I have been in a drug induced stupor for God knows how long. I wish the scars would go away just as easily as my sanity did. Daylight was escaping the streets quickly and I could only see the outline of my house from the lights on in the windows from here. I could not make out whether the panes were broken or not, but I did see a shadow walking about in the kitchen, which was Jake, so I will assume it is and be relieved.

My street is so boring, or at least it was until that day. Nothing really seemed boring at that state of my life anymore, and perhaps it was not for the better. This whole ordeal was already starting to teach me that all those years of staring out the window at work and wishing for more out of my life were so misplaced. I already knew as I was walking down the road that I have only faced the easiest part of what I had already faced outside of my own little slice of reality. Now the whole expression of, “Watch what you wish for, you just might get it,” was more than a joke to laugh off among friends. Heck I really wish I had taken the time to make a friend before now, because I would have loved at the time to talk to someone who lived in the same small universe that I did. Live and learn.

Walking up the back stairs I already could tell that the window had again been smashed in, only this time it is not going to go away. If it were then I would not have such a lack of amusement over the fact that I am unemployed now. Reality is not particularly fun but then again, I am confused as to where one ends and the other starts so bear with me as I try to sort it all out. Yes, I did already take a second look to make sure that the diner was still leveled, and it was quite destroyed, it was on the way anyway. That diner was my job for fourteen years and I was lucky to have it, in this jobless town. Now I am like all those others that are escaping because the source of all the jobs blew up. I just hope we still have some panes of glass in the basement.

Once I had the door opened, I saw the glass lodged in the wall as I had before. There was a baseball underneath it which was not there this morning, but had it been then I would have been far less surprised about the whole thing than I had been. Broken windows caused by baseballs make sense and it was about time that something was broken for a sensible reason. My mind at the time was completely scrambled and I did not even want to think about the problem of seeing this happen like fourteen hours ago. What a wonderful day to find out that not only does Satan exist, but God is also a woman and now I can predict the future or see it or something along those lines. What I could not see was my son who I had seen walking around the kitchen as I approached, or was it my son? “Jake!” I yelled out wondering where he was desperately and, in a way, ashamed of myself for not thinking of him the second I saw the window.

The voice from the basement sounded a little frustrated and confused, “Mom, please!” and somewhere in the scorn that came out of his voice I had a feeling that he was frustrated. “I just came in ten minutes ago and I came straight down to the basement,” his words were getting clearer and louder as he walked up the stairs and then got crystal when he came into the kitchen, “I didn’t even know the window was broken, while I was outside, but we have more glass, sorry about that,” and he obviously thought I was blaming him for something, which I wasn’t but I can see what he was thinking. “That was a ball that sailed over my head, and I had no idea it sailed this far. I did not even hear the glass break?” Looking at the glass impaled in the wall, I had to imagine that Ricky is going to get some good outfielder money someday.

As Jake walked over to the window with the other pane of glass in his hands I clamped on to him, almost making him drop it, “Baby, I was just worried when I saw the glass and didn’t know where you were like a burglar or something broke in,” which was a horrible lie but I have been having a rough day. He did not actually try to break free, but he did give me the look of a young man that also realized that our door has never been locked, this town is not worth burglars moving to, and any that live here know full well that we have nothing to steal. He obviously chalked it up to his insane mother and shrugged it off as he carried the glass over to the window and to snap the broken glass out. When did he get to be the man of the house like this again?

He made an obvious sigh, which means that he has not learned the art yet before he said, “It just figures that I spent all that time cleaning this window this morning, just to have to replace it with another one that’s even dirtier than the one I cleaned before,” his laughter afterwards was more natural but still sounded pretty fake. I did not think of it at the time but for accuracy I am pointing it out now. I watched him snap the broken bits out of the pain and remove the staples that held the wood in place. Like a mother I worried every time he touched a piece of glass, but that’s part of the deal of parenthood, isn’t it? He added, “Did you even notice that I did not bother to ask you what you were doing all day since the diner blew up? When I did not see you after practice I thought you were out drinking like all my friend’s parents have done since their jobs went up in flames, but you don’t smell drunk so now I’m wondering,” which was followed by a much more nervous laugh that did get my attention. Damn this being jaded thing, I could feel it seeping into everything I do and there does not seem to be a cure for it after you see what you should not have.

“I was out trying to finagle another job, it’s not easy without a car,” and the lies just kept on coming. After all it is still my job to keep my poor son from the expert jading process, I have been going through, isn’t it? He continued to fix the window, but his silence was deafening as to the pile of crap I had just spread in this room. I was starting to feel guilty about all the lying I was doing but I do not think any mother of the year candidate came right out and told their children they were spending time together in the park with the Devil. I mean it does not pass my own personal test, and I am a smart cookie, trust me. I decided it was best to change the subject and see what that would get me, “How was school today?”

He started out with the standard blow me off answer, “Wasn’t too bad,” but then he acted as though he remembered something important while he reached into his pocket, “Mary gave me this at lunch and wanted you to call her. Sorry I forgot about that,” he exclaimed as he handed me a folded and stapled piece of paper. Mary has been the lead lunch lady at Jake’s school since I was in Jake’s school. There was a duality in me now as I first was thinking all those years of being nice to her when everyone else picked on her God fetish, finally paid off, and she was getting me a job. The other half of me was screaming in the background that my life had finally sunk to the level I had always worried it would but never wanted to speak of aloud. Who in the name of God ever wants to be a lunch lady? Well, the unemployed waitress with the teenage son and a dead ex-husband who was not particularly alive when he was does, I guess. I opened the note and immediately lost my voice. Jake inquired as to what it was because it was a very noisy, lost my voice we are talking about here.

When you are on a roll continue to lie, “Um,” my mind sat frozen as I stared at the note, “She wants to see if she can get me a job at the school, since the diner is destroyed,” came out easily since it was something I had been thinking of. I did not want to read off, “Call me later tonight so we can talk about your friend, and his friend,” with her phone number scrawled on the bottom of it. I was still pondering all of this over as I tried to think of where Mary was able to catch on to the under worldly drama as it unfolded. I do not know what Lou had told her when they had talked, I do not know if she knew who he was, but she did act as though she figured it out shockingly when he kissed her hand. Come to think of it, why couldn’t she have filled me in on it all before I was jumping around time? On that note what does she know about anything? She is the town’s bible expert and when I say that I mean it as a compliment. The local preacher asks for her advice and as I now recollect so did the Devil himself. Now how is that for a résumé enhancement?

Jake brightened up like he had more good news to tell me. He then started stammering out, “You don’t have to worry about that mom, some guy came by and told me to tell you that he had bought the diner a few weeks ago and was going to incorporate it into his chain of diners,” and then he started thinking about it a bit, which gave me time to get over being startled by the revelation. He continued, “Yeah, they hadn’t told anyone yet, because they weren’t sure whether it was going to be redeveloped first, but the explosion made up their mind,” and the words were hovering in the air as I was trying to find the perfect time to cut in, my mind was still trying to accept the note from Mary, who knew too much, “It was the guy that was hanging out around the school, because I guess he was trying to get a feel for the area, but he wanted you to know that they are going to pay you while they redevelop …”

“Was his name Lou?” I asked him as I was starting to see something forming here and just wanted to cut to the chase. He gave me a curious look, so I added, “Tallish guy, with long dark hair, very handsome?” and then realized that my son does not have any concept of another man being handsome yet at his age. Jake’s expression was that of a pondering young man and then he looked down at the baseball.

Somewhat defensively Jake started talking again, “He never said his first name mom, he shook Ricky’s hand and said something to him when I came around the corner from getting a stray baseball,” Jake was not very comfortable by the way I looked but I was getting rather ill all of a sudden but encouraged him to continue, “He never really got within 10 feet of me as he explained it all, but he seemed pretty genuine. Said his name was Mr. Darius …”

“Mr. WHAT?” and yes, I was out of control at this point and my son slid back a bit from where he was sitting at the table, a bit afraid of how I was reacting. My mind started whirling around that the freak came within a mile of my son and more over was talking to him. I stood up and started pacing in a bit of an uncontrollable panic, and then did everything I possibly could to control my temper before I sat down again, Now I was paranoid all over again and for damn good reason, the fact that he made a point to shake Ricky’s hand and stayed ten feet from Jake meant something but who knows what it means? I rationally and slowly said to Jake, “I am sorry. My nerves are shot because of the explosion, and I had no idea that the diner had been sold; I will call Bud and see what is going on. Did he say anything else to you?” I added as an afterthought.

I would have just loved Jake to say, “No, mom he just got tackled by the most beautiful man on earth and they both exploded into a fire. There was a beautiful rainbow afterwards though!” but I think I would have a better chance of getting back child support from my dead ex.

Jake so wisely beyond his years put on a smile to try and comfort me when he said, “It is ok mom, I can understand. I saw that explosion and it should have rattled you,” but he said it rather timidly and then started again with, “He just told Ricky that he wanted to see another good fast ball, and that was when the ball went sailing over my head and then apparently through the window,” he looked over at the baseball again, “I couldn’t have gotten the ball that far. I have never seen a throw that hard in my life, but Ricky had said he has been practicing,” and then he was back to cleaning up glass off the floor ... To be continued

#creative writing #dark aesthetic #web novel #good and evil #gothic #schism

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thornstocutyouwith · 2 years ago

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Rolling his eyes, Asher could almost growl. It sounded so ignorant, what Darius was saying "She apparently can't do that, there. Darius, no magic, correct? So." He grumbled under his breath "That's just going to make her target you, instead." As Darius spoke on, Asher squint toward the other "Fine." He mutters. Though he still thought it was very silly, all of it. Lying to Sage was what had gotten them all into this mess recently. It was bound to blow up in the other's face if Sage ever got out. Especially with Darla around, now. Asher turns his head away abruptly, taking in a deep breath "You have a daughter, Darius. We have a child. Who is currently in prison because of what we didn't tell her to begin with. I'm going to be honest. I think this plan…isn't going to work. And you're banking on Sage never getting out."

Sage had killed him the first time, to hurt Darius. As if she already knew the big secret all along. But hated it, hated the reality of it. The fact that it shattered her 'family'. Asher shifted, his tail swishing, the Cheshire cat didn't like this one bit. Not at all. But Darius rarely listen to him when he had his mind set on something "I'm not weak!" The cat snapped, then "I could have killed her, but…I didn't imagine she would do this…" Bitterly, he hisses. Half his kingdom was lost to that other cat, BB, just because of that. It angered him that this all happened in his years of absence "I didn't think all this was going to happen. I'm not a fucking child! I don't need to be protected from my own kid. Or handled like I'm glass!" Swiping a hand he hit a vase, sending it crashing to the floor in his anger.

Taking a moment to breath, he adjusted his head, letting the anger work it's way through his system. He shivered and turned back to Darius "You want to do this alone. Then you do that. But you're not going to do it because you're afraid of what may happen to me. You're going to do it. To help our daughter come to terms with who you actually are, to her." Pointing, he pulls away a little "That's why you will do this alone. Don't use me as your scapegoat, for excluding me from this trial of yours. Understand?" Asher explained.

Listening to Darius as the other was talking, he narrowed his eyes "She's not going to kill you Darius. You're what she wants. But you don't look like who she wants." Asher informed "She wants her mother." Of course, it would be insane to ask Darius be that, and Asher wouldn't want that either. But Sage was a brat, and she wasn't exactly sane. It was what she wanted, and she just never had to deal with accepting not getting that. Staring at the other man, he sighed "Neither of you are going to die…Don't be dramatic…" Besides, there was certainly some way to bring them back. At least, as long as Sage was alive. As she had abilities in resurrection. Something Darius didn't know about her, it appeared. Asher had experienced it plenty of times while Sage was growing up, and becoming demented.

Asher glances away, trying not to think of those times, and kept quiet about them, even with Darius. Sage probably could not be saved, ultimately. But he knew what she wanted "Ah. Well, without death, there's not risk. So probably, we shouldn't rely so entirely on such things. Makes the story a little less fun if no one is hurt, or dies." Asher teased before letting out a breath "But go on then, have your chat with her. You're the key." And he was the lock. A symbolism of their relationship as a whole.

"Because, Asher, I don't want her taking you away from me again."

And there it was. The real reason why Darius was still lying to Sage.

"You need to understand, and perhaps I haven't told you enough, Asher. YOU are the most important person to me. Without you, my existence is meaningless. Not even Darla will ever matter to me as much as you do and if Sage thinks you are still dead - then let's keep it that way, alright?"

Yes, Darius was all the things that Asher was thinking to himself. The thing was, out of everyone that Darius had ever known in this life, Asher was the only person that ever truly mattered to him. Even more than himself, his own daughter, and his own sister.

A sigh left Darius's lips when he realized he knew there was a very high possibility that Sage would try and kill him, and kill him indeed if she got the chance. With that thought, Darius had closed the distance between himself and Asher, his slender digits reaching for the nape of Asher's neck as he rested his forehead against his.

"Listen. In the very unlikely situation that Sage manages to escape and does indeed succeed in killing me, seek out the Dormouse. Call in a favor from Shay, Sean, or even Alexander if you need but I'm pretty certain Darla has enough power in her to handle Sage. Regardless. Seek out Layla. Have that Dormouse exchange Sage's life for my own. If she really does kill me, Asher, if Darla's influence can't make her change her mind, she does not get another chance --"

To say the least, Darius was hoping Darla could help her. "Besides, I've come back from the dead before, I'm most certain I can do it again."

#Para #Asher #AsherPara #DariusPara #OfWondersAndHares #WonderlandAU #WonderlandAsher #AsherAU

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angstintensifer · 3 years ago

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Camp fam incorrect quotes again, but with some ships

Kenji : But what about Ben? He was my SOULMATE!

Darius : You said that about a ball of yarn once!

***

Kenji : You can track Darius ?

Ben: Of course I can. If the NSA can do it, so can I.

***

Darius : And here we see Kenji and Ben in their natural habitat. Texting eachother variations of the word "garlic bread" to try to make eachother laugh.

Kenji : Gaelic bread.

Ben: Grueling brad.

Kenji : Ha ha, glamorous beans.

***

Yaz : I dare you to kiss the next person who walks into this room.

Ben: Screw that, I’m not kissing any of you.

*Kenji walks in*

Ben: Fine, I’ll do it. Rules are rules you know.

***

Kenji : Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos-

Ben: I wrote you a poem.

Kenji , already crying: You did?

***

Kenji : Okay, I’m going to get the wedding cake.

Ben: Perfect, while you do that I’ll check on the ring bear.

Kenji : ...

Kenji : You mean ring bearER, right?

Ben: ...

Kenji : Look me in the eyes and tell me you are not going to bring a dangerous wild animal to our wedding.

***

Kenji : Hey, Ben, what do you think it would be like if we had kids?

Ben: What would it be like? Inconvenient, mostly.

Kenji : No, I mean, what would they be like, the kids? You ever think about it?

Ben: Can't really say I have.

Kenji : You know, for someone as eccentric as yourself, you can be boring as fuck sometimes.

Ben: Sorry, Kenji . For what it's worth, I'm picturing them now. A boy and a girl. Two perfect little freaks of nature raised by people who've clearly got no business bringin' up anybody.

***

Kenji : I still have no idea how I’m attracted to you...

Ben: Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me, and no take backs, honey.

***

Kenji : I think I'm falling for you.

Ben: Then get up.

***

Ben: What’s up? I’m back.

Darius : I literally saw you die. You died. You were dead

Ben: Death is a social construct.

***

Darius: *sneaks into camp fam house after being late w Dinos*

Ben: *turns in a swivel chair* care to explain where you here?

Darius: I was with… Uh … Kenji!

Kenji: *also turns in swivel chair* Care to- *keeps spinning* Ben- I can’t stop the chair-

***

Yaz : Why is Brooklynn crying?

Sammy: They saw a leaf on the sidewalk and-

Brooklynn : IT LOOKED SO CRUNCHY!

Yaz : Please don’t say what I think you’re gonna say-

Brooklynn : AND WHEN I STEPPED ON IT THERE WAS NO CRUNCH!

Yaz : NO, NOT THAT!

***

Brooklynn : Bet you can’t eat 15 crayons!

Yaz : Bet you I can!

Sammy: *sips coffee, checks to make sure 911 is still on speed dial, and goes back to reading the paper*

***

Brooklynn: Can you cut me some slack, Darius? I’m sort of in love.

Darius: I’m sorry, but that’s really not my problem.

Brooklynn: I’m in love with you.

Darius: *blushes* Oh. That brings me in the loop a little.

***

Darius: You have to apologize to them Brooklynn.

Brooklynn: Fine! But I must warn you that this might make me a better, nicer person and that is NOT the person you fell in love with!

***

Darius: So what’s for dinner?

Brooklynn , staring at the food they just burnt: Regret.

***

Darius: Bro-

Brooklynn: No, no, hold up, rewind.

Brooklynn: My tongue was down in your throat just a second ago and now you're calling me bro??

***

Yaz: I didn't drink that much last night.

Brooklynn : You were flirting with Sammy.

Yaz: So what? She’s my girlfriend

Brooklynn : You asked if she were single.

Brooklynn : And then you cried when she said she wasn’t.

***

Brooklynn : Ooh, somebody has a crush

Yaz: Pfft, I don’t have a crush on Sammy I just think they’re cool, it’s not like I stay up at night thinking about them.

*Later that night*

Yaz, very much awake: Uh oh.

#incorrect camp cretaceous quotes #camp Cretaceous #jwcc #kenji kon #yasmina fadoula #sammy gutierrez #ben pincus #brooklynn jwcc #darius bowman #i made more wksjsj #ships this time #yasammy #jwcc benji #dinostar #jurassic world camp cretaceous

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thedeadnotesofficial · 3 years ago

Text

CRUSHED BY THE WEIGHT OF THE TOUR - TOP 10 FAILS & FUCK-UPS ON TOUR WITH THE DEADNOTES

-> ORDER YOUR ZINE HERE!

UK, 2022

7 days before our first longer tour in the UK after two-and a half (!!!) years of not playing shows and being able to travel due to the pandemic. Euphoria peaks. / 4 days before the tour is supposed to start: Members of our crew test positive and we decide to cancel the first three shows. Frustration peaks. / Day 1: Out of quarantine and straight back into the tour. Euphoria peaks. / Day 2: We get a call from tonight‘s promoter. The show is cancelled since the support band dropped out at the very last minute (????). Frustration peaks. So what.... / Day 3: It surely can't get any worse than this so let‘s finally get this thing rollin‘. Euphoria spreads among the travel party. / Day 4 – The Morning: We leave the hotel to find our van with all the windows smashed in. Someone had nicked all (!!!) our gear, worth almost 25k, overnight. I‘m crying. / Day 4 – Noon: Without windows in the car we head off to London and play a killer show borrowing instruments, pedals and backline from the other bands on the bill. I start to feel hope and euphoria kicks back in again. / Day 4 – The Night: Straight overnight we drive from London to Paris but get stopped at the border for over five hours and get charged an additional 6000€ of punitive tariffs from the customs department since our gear (the gear that got stolen) is not leaving the country with us. It surely can't be any worse than this. Frustration peaks. / Day 5: After 15 hours and no sleep at all we arrive in Paris. We‘ve made it and euphoria begins to spread. / Day 5 – The Noon: Incoming call from tonight‘s promoter. The show is cancelled due to a water damage in the venue. Frustration peaks. / Day 5 – The Evening: We arrange a last minute acoustic show with the help of our friend Tom and I feel the pressure slowly lift off my shoulders...I could go on like this forever!

Ostend, Belgium, 2015

I speak from experience when I say that there are certain things you really shouldn't - no! - mustn't lose on a three week tour all over Europe. Among the most important are ID's and van keys. In the morning after the show the ID of our old drummer Yannic is nowhere to be found. No chance to travel on to England and carry on with the tour if we don't find the document or get a temporary replacement at least. After stops at various embassies and police stations without any progress and prospect of success we decide to play all upcoming UK shows as a two-piece and as improvised acoustic sets only. The only problem is that our guitarist and singer Darius only passed his driving test two days ago and now has to find his way as the only driver on the left side of the road without any experience or driving practice. It works out surprisingly well though except smaller issues such as a hill start on the insanely steep ferry ramp (the port pilot loses his mind and patience and takes over the steering wheel). After a terribly long day of ups and downs and 16 hours in the car we arrive in Derby (UK) where we find out that no one at the pub we are supposed to play knows about our show since the in-house promoter fell into a coma weeks ago after a tragic motorcycle accident.

Russia, 2015

It‘s 4 am on a country road somewhere between Volgograd and Voronesch, far away from any civilization and infrastructure. We're all dead tired, slowly and carefully driving through the heavy Russian rain when suddenly our satnav, for no obvious reason, leads us off the street onto a small dirt track opposite to the main road. Since we have no idea where we are we trust blindly. Only two minutes later the car is stuck in the mud parallel to the regular street where we were driving on before. We have gotten ourselves into a desperate situation once and for all. We can‘t believe it when we realize that there‘s a small and run down police station right around the corner. We‘re literally in the middle of nowhere, how is that even possible? We try to explain our situation to the two senior officers using a 'German-Russian / Russian-German' dictionary that we got as a present from a super drunk and annoying fan at the merch table the night before and in the end get towed-off with a tow rope in Russian national colors. The two officers leave the unusual scenario in their Lada Jeep quietly without saying a single word. Lady luck is smiling.

South Germany, 2014

I reckon that the first and last time this band had coverage from all big German radio stations all at once was when on the first day of our tour the roof box on our car opened up because of heavy winds, our whole luggage including laptops spread across the motorway and we caused several rear end collisions and a traffic jam 8 km long.

Various Locations, 2014-2019

Various ‚remarkable‘ accommodations, e.g. a high rise porn building in the Czech Republic (don‘t ask!) already and officially cleared for demolition, a kebab shop in France where we got kicked out early in the morning when the sullen owner wants to turn on the fryer. One time we simply crashed in the center of a football pitch after a festival in Bavaria and at 4 am the sprinkler system abruptly wakes Jakob and Darius from a deep sleep.

Istanbul, Turkey 2016

Show cancellation -> reason: a military coup

Vienna, AT 2017

Our drummer Felix is by far the sweetest and and most good-natured if not to say best-natured person you could ever imagine. He‘s always seeing the good in people sometimes to a certain level where he accidentally maneuvers himself into very uncomfortable or even dangerous situation. This one time on tour a very nice but fully unknown person wanted him to join in on smoking a joint and Felix followed them to an outlying urban park, then locked himself into a public restroom together with this person ("we have to do this, there are cops everywhere"). Not until the weird stranger started watching porn on his smartphone as if it was a nothing, Felix noticed that something is wrong here and ran away while everyone else in the travel party was extremely concerned and already looking for him for hours.

Bilbao, Spain 2015

Sentences you really don‘t wanna hear after an exhausting 7 hours in the car driving all through Spain: "You‘re a band? A concert? Tonight? At this place? Hahahaha! The promoter here is a real 'speedhead' and on drugs most of the time. He frequently keeps forgetting about shows he booked. I don‘t think that anyone is going to show up here tonight."

UK Tours 2017/2019

We‘re leaving for our UK Tour. The van we‘re traveling in is a rental from Europcar with roughly 400 km on the display. Technically a brand new car, fresh from the factory. After only half an hour it breaks down and turns out to be a total loss. One year later: In the meantime we bought our very first and very own van and can‘t wait to leave for the very first tour with it. On our way to the UK and after only 30 min the car breaks down and the motor turns out to be a total loss.

Kyiv, Ukraine 2016

After a 15 hours nightdrive and after ALL the bands got to play their sets the festivals is shut down by the Ukrainian police during our changeover. When at 4 am in the morning we carefully mention that we would like to drive to the accomodation to catch up on some sleep and to be prepared for the next 7 hours drive to be in time for get-in in Odessa the next day, we get insulted by the promoter who is far from sober at this point. "I have all the experience in the music business. If you‘re set time tomorrow is at 8 pm, a get-in at 7.50 pm is totally sufficient. We‘re not going home now!"

Well...I‘m pretty sure he knew what he was doing.

Photo by Paul Ambrusch

#thedeadnotes #pabst #crushedbytheweightofthetour

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angel-tries-to-write · 4 years ago

Text

Rules are meant to be broken

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan Rating: General Pairing: Levi Ackerman & Hanji Zoë Word count: 3163 Genre: fluff, humor

When Hanji is forced to conform to gender roles, their friends stand up for them and it’s wholesome.

Non-binary afab Hanji, one (1) swear word.

This day seemed to be a regular and boring one. First year students were going to their club meeting and they didn't expect anything interesting to happen. But when they entered the Survey Club room, they saw a very strange view. Hanji, being their dramatic self, had upper part of their body completely sprawled on table, with Moblit, Miche and Nanaba sitting next to them, clearly trying to cheer them up. But the weird part was that by their opposite side was Levi with his hand caressing Hanji's back. Mr. Erwin Smith was observing them, visibly upset, thinking about something intensively.

“What happened?” Jean asked, as he was the first to snap out of the shock that this very uncommon incident induced.

“As you may know, we have this holiday event and a very important inspection tomorrow. Everyone has to be dressed in very formal clothes” Petra explained, she was very concerned and sad.

“We know, but is that a tragedy?”

“I can't wear a suit” Hanji said with a slightly muffled voice.

“So?”

“I'll have to wear a fucking dress, and you even dare to ask?!” they snapped, looking at Jean angrily. Not that they saw much with their glasses pushed up their head, but they didn't even want to see him.

“Hanji, there's no need to use such language” Mr. Smith reproached them.

“Excuse me, Hanji-senpai, but what's wrong with that?” Eren asked, not really understanding the problem.

“Oh, nothing. If you like dresses” the older student was really upset about this situation.

“I don't think I follow...” Sasha spoke, actually trying to understand that.

“Me too” Connie nodded, agreeing with her.

“Tch, isn't it obvious, you stupid brats?” Levi looked at them with a cold stare. “Dresses are formal clothes assigned to girls, while suits are for boys. But this idiot school rules don't allow any other option” he said. It was obvious that he was furious about it, even if he seemed stoic at first sight.

“So, the problem is that Hanji-senpai is forced to wear a dress even though they are not a girl, because school rules are stupid?” Armin summed up to avoid further confusion.

“Precisely” Mr. Smith nodded. “And unfortunately, there is not much we can do about that.”

“There is something.”

“No, Levi, violence is not an option.”

“Tch. Violence is always an option.”

“I understand that you are upset, but you can't change the whole school on your own.”

“Watch me. Only I can hurt that stupid four-eyes.”

“That's actually cute, thank you Levi” Hanji smiled weakly at him. “Even though you've never actually hurt me.”

“Aw, Levi, you actually care about them” Nanaba teased and he shot her a death glare she ignored.

“I don't. Why would I?”

“You've said it already, there's no point trying to take that back.”

“He doesn't like to be obvious. You know expressing feelings isn't really his thing” Hanji explained. “But I know he does care and he knows I do care too. We're best friends, after all.”

“That's so sweet” Petra smiled.

“Can we focus on our problem?” Levi asked with irritation, just like Hanji said, he didn't like to be obvious about his feelings.

Meanwhile Mikasa, who had no interest in their conversations and relationships, pulled Sasha, Christa and Ymir aside. She had a plan. The girls didn't need much convincing to agree with her.

“Hanji-senpai” Mikasa spoke, it was unique of her to talk to anyone but Eren or Armin, so every head turned at her. “Please, wear your suit tomorrow and be as elegant as you can.”

“Do you have any plan?” Hanji was actually interested and fixed their glasses to properly look at the younger girl. “But do you realize it's against the rules?”

“Rules are meant to be broken” Ymir shrugged.

“Nothing is meant to be broken” Oluo scoffed, miraculously not biting his tongue.

“What about glowsticks?” Armin asked.

“Spaghetti if you have a small pot?” Sasha added.

“Karate boards?” Eren suggested.

“And rules” Ymir was more than happy to prove her point. Oluo wanted to comment it, but before he could form a coherent word, he bit his tongue.

“You'd better be quiet” Petra sighed with annoyance. “I can't wait for the day when you finally bite your tongue off.”

“My, my, love is in the air in Survey Corps” Nanaba teased again, observing the red headed girl.

“L-love? Nanaba-senpai, this is not—” she tried to protest, her cheeks blushed.

“Isn't it? Well, I see a pattern here” Nana looked at Levi and Hanji, then at Oluo and Petra and smirked.

“B-but...”

“Stop arguing, you only prove her point” Levi interrupted her, before she could embarrass herself. “The best strategy is to ignore her and pretend nothing happened.”

“I never said anything happened.”

“But you thought that. You and Miche are doing it since you joined us, I just know what you've thought” he pointed out, the mentioned couple only shrugged in response.

“Alright, kids, I guess under current circumstances we can tell that we are not able to have a proper club meeting today. I guess we can go home then” Erwin said and no one protested. They all had too much to think about.

The next day Hanji was extremely nervous. With Levi's help, they looked absolutely amazing, in a perfect suit, with clean and brushed hair, neatly pinned in an elegant updo, and polished glasses, they didn't look like their usual mad scientist persona. They were pacing nervously, waiting for younger girls, just like they told them the previous day.

“Oi, calm down, four-eyes, would you? That pacing drives me insane” Levi spoke finally.

“Sorry, I'm just really nervous!”

“I said stop” he approached them and grabbed their forearms, firm enough to make them stop, but careful enough to not wrinkle the jacket. “It will be fine” he said calmly, looking in their eyes. Hanji blinked a few times and sighed.

“You are probably right” they admitted. Corners of Levi's mouth moved a little and Hanji knew it was his smile. His stoic composure helped them calm down a little. Just when he let go of them, the younger students appeared, all wearing the best suits. When Hanji saw them, they blinked with confusion. Eren, Armin, Jean and Connie, as well as Mikasa, Sasha, Christa and Ymir all wore suits, and looked very elegant. Even a very girly and cute Christa, who wore dresses and skirts all the time, look very good with her hair braided in a pretty updo, they could even say she looked noble.

“Hanji-senpai, you look absolutely awesome” Sasha smiled, munching on bread sticks.

“B-but... You do realize, you're going to get in trouble?” Hanji asked, they were both deeply moved by their sacrifice and terrified of their potential punishment.

“They won't take us all” someone from the other side spoke and they turned around to see Nanaba, Petra, Ilse Langnar, Rico Brzenska, Annie Leonhart, even Hitch Dreyse as well as some more girls, all wearing suits. Hanji felt tears filling their eyes.

“You all did it for me?” they asked and their voice cracked with emotions.

“For you and to fight systemic oppression. We can't allow rules to limit our freedom. I already provided the article about it, we are supposed to look elegant, so we do. Who cares that we don't meet gender norms” Ilse answered with a smile.

“Thank you. All of you. It means a lot.”

“It was all Mikasa's idea, but we couldn't disagree with her” Petra praised the younger girl. Hanji turned around to Mikasa, who wasn't wearing her red scarf, as it wasn't particularly elegant after all those years.

“I did what had to be done” she said. Hanji said nothing, just approached her and hugged her, trying not to cry.

“Alright, let's go and ruin that stupid school!” Nana punched the air with her fist.

“Yes!” Eren definitely shared her excitement.

“Maybe not literally” Hitch reminded them, after all she still was a part of student's council. Everyone entered the school and proceeded to have their day.

They didn't have to wait long for the results of their actions. The teachers' reactions were mixed, some of them were horrified, some were quietly proud, and most of them didn't care, but they all at least tried to act like nothing happened. Yet the moment finally came and all the girls wearing suits, including Hanji, were called to principal Darius Zackly's office.

“What is the meaning of this? Don't school rules mean anything to you? Explain yourselves!” Mr. Nile Dawk demanded, he was clearly stressed out and he looked like he was going to have a seizure.

“Calm down, Nile, there's no need to yell” Mr. Erwin Smith rebuked him calmly.

“We were supposed to dress up formally and so we did. There is nothing wrong with our outfits” Mikasa answered with her usual unbothered expression.

“I don't see anything wrong either. These students look as elegant as they are supposed to” Mr. Smith agreed.

“But they wear clothes assigned for boys!” Mr. Kitz Woermann yelled and the blond teacher looked at him carefully, before speaking.

“Clothes have no gender” he stated.

“Unfortunately the school rules are clear about what the students are supposed to wear” principal Zackly fixed his glasses.

“Maybe this is the time to change the rules?”

“Are you seriously suggesting changing years of tradition just become some students can't keep up with it?” Mr. Dawk was getting angrier, but Mr. Smith was not easy to be provoked.

“If they can't, maybe there is a bigger problem? Look at all those students, this is not a single case. And there's more of them, this is a group protest. So maybe we should consider that it's time to change what isn't working anymore. Traditions are supposed to guide us, not limit our growth.”

“You are saying there is more students supporting this idea?” principal Zackly caressed his beard and looked at Erwin with curiosity.

“Of course” the teacher nodded and opened the door. A rather large group of boys entered the room and gave the traditional salute.

“Principal Zackly, with all respect, if you want to punish them, you would have to punish us as well!” Eren declared and no one disagreed with him, because for the first time he wasn't talking what seemed nonsense.

“Eren Jäger. I should have known it was you who stands behind all of this” Mr. Woermann clenched his fist in anger.

“Eren has nothing to do with that. It was my idea. Mine and no one else's” Mikasa said firmly.

“It doesn't matter whose idea it was” Mr. Keith Shadis spoke for the first time since this meeting started. “We should decide what to do now.”

“So you all agree with Mr. Smith and all this... protest?” the principal asked the boys, who all nodded in confirmation. “Very well. Then let's do this: since you claim clothes have no gender, then tomorrow you all come to school in dresses and no one will be punished, also we will change the school rules. Does that sound fair?” he proposed and the boys' confidence visibly lowered.

“It does. We are up to challenge” Levi said with his usual poker face, though his gritted teeth and slightly furrowed brows were giving away his determination and anger.

“Very well. You are dismissed” he decided and the students left the teachers to deal with any disagreements on their own.

“How did we get into this?” Jean ran his fingers through his hair.

“We can't do that” Reiner protested.

“We have to. Remember why are we doing it: for our friends. All the girls decided to risk getting in trouble for today, yet they did it, because it was the right thing to do. Now it's our turn, are we going to be little cowards or can we face it like men?” Armin reminded them, his speech raised their morale a little. He knew he was right and his friends knew it too. Besides he wore girly outfit before and he knew it was nothing bad.

“You don't have to do that. None of you had to” Hanji spoke quietly, they felt overwhelming guilt about everything that happened. “I'm sorry for making this much trouble, I should never have said anything, I should have acted like it wasn't a big deal” they pushed their glasses on their head and rubbed their eyes.

“Shut up, four-eyes. You have the right to be yourself and no one can tell you otherwise. At this point it's not even about you anymore. They want a war. So I can gladly provide one” Levi growled and only Hanji knew how much affection he had just expressed in this angry statement. “If they think a piece of clothing is going to ruin our confidence, they're so wrong.”

“Alright then, if Levi-senpai can do that, I guess we all can” Oluo shrugged. He looked at Petra and for the first time he saw admiration in her eyes. It was definitely worth doing it then.

“Thank you. It means a lot to us” Christa smiled sweetly.

“You will thank us tomorrow, when we prove our point to the teachers” said Levi.

The next day however, they were even less sure if it was worth doing. Even during the road to school, everyone was unusually quiet.

“Eren? Are you alright?” Mikasa asked shyly, when they met with their friends, only Armin and Connie didn't seem to have much against their clothes. “You know you didn't have to do this, right?”

“You think I could back out like a coward after you have fought so bravely for Hanji and for the right cause? To admit the teachers were right, that wearing this dress, this meaningless piece of clothing can shatter my manliness and hurt my pride to the point I choose to spare myself embarrassing and abandon my friends in need? I thought you know me better than that” he looked at her and she gave him one of her most beautiful smiles.

“Yeah, when I told my mom about it, I was sure she was going to slap me or even disown. But she suddenly started crying and said she's proud of me for being willing to sacrifice myself for my friends. And I guess it made me feel better” Jean confessed and Mikasa looked at him.

“You can be annoying, but this is very mature of you. I really appreciate that you didn't back out. Thank you” she said and he suddenly blushed, clearly not being used to such kind words.

When they arrived to school, they were very relieved to see that they weren't the only ones who wore dresses just like they were supposed to. They could see Petra chatting with Oluo, Gunther and Eld; Marco talking to Ilse; Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie, trying to act like they didn't exist; Hitch, who at once wasn't making fun of Marlowe; Franz and Hanna lost in their own world; even Rico, who usually wore her sport suit, was wearing a dress, just like her friend Ian, they were looking at the walls and seemed to lament they won't be cleaned today too. Finally, the first year students saw the core of Survey Club: Moblit was reading a book, Miche and Nanaba were chatting about something quite cheerfully, all not bothered by their outfits at all, while the other couple was just their usual self, excited Hanji and grumpy Levi. And whoever saw them, simply couldn't not stare. Hanji had their hair down, it was messy and fluffy, because of its cut, but the way it fell around their face was really bringing out their beauty. Hanji was never considered casually beautiful, but now everyone could see how terribly wrong they were: Hanji was gorgeous and they didn't even put any effort to look like this. All it took was to loosen their hair and put a dress on, and suddenly everyone was aware of their beauty. And Levi... this guy was incredible, he had his usual grumpy expression, but even in a dress he looked absolutely amazing. These two totally rocked in those outfits and everyone was staring at them either with adoration or jealousy. Their obvious confidence and radiating boss energy was very helpful for everyone who felt down about their clothes.

That was until Mr. Erwin Smith joined them and absolutely stole the spotlight. He was wearing his usual shirt and tie, but instead of pants, he had a skirt. And he wore it with so much confidence that he looked awesome.

“Even you had to do that, sir?” Sasha asked when the young group approached them and the teacher just smiled.

“I didn't have to. I decided to, because I realized that if I was defending you so strongly, I could set a good example myself” he explained. The students looked at him, very impressed. He didn't have to unite with them, yet he chose to and he wasn't ashamed at all. “It was not an easy decision, but I knew you were going to need support in this difficult day. So here I am.”

“Mr. Smith, you are the best!” Connie exclaimed and no one could disagree with him.

The rest of the day was very challenging. Boys were not used to wearing dresses at all, but luckily every one of them had girls who were experts in preventing any wardrobe malfunction. They were also ready to protect their friends from any bullies, and unfortunately they had plenty opportunities. But it was worth it, at the end of the day, principal Zackley informed them, that he didn't believe they could do that, yet they did. And deal was deal, the school rules were going to officially be changed. It was the moment Hanji couldn't take it anymore and they just started crying.

“Stop it, four-eyes” Levi said gently.

“I'm sorry, I just... I'm so happy and I can't believe it's real” they laughed through tears and pushed their glasses up, so they could wipe their eyes. Suddenly they pulled their friend in a tight hug. “Thank you, Levi. Thank you for everything” they sobbed.

“There, there. Don't you dare to ruin my dress” he warned them, but put a hand in their hair and caressed it softly. He actually couldn't care less about his clothes as long as Hanji was comfortable. They pulled away after a moment, smiling sheepishly. “Better?”

“Yes. Thank you, Levi.”

“You're welcome.”

The next day everything went back to normal. Well, almost everything, because those two days definitely strengthened relationships. There was more understanding and affection in all friendships, and the taste of success really made everyone more confident. Some teachers weren't happy about it, but they didn't have much choice than to accept their loss. Even more, when a couple of days later, principal Zackly got a report that the results of the inspection are very positive and the school is doing just fine...

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #my fic #attack on titan junior high #shingeki no kyojin chuugakkou #hanji zoë #levi ackerman #mikasa ackerman #erwin smith

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jlalafics · 6 years ago

Note

i beg of u. on bended knee. please write peeta on bended knee. by which i mean proposing. to katniss ofc

You asked for it...and here you go--

______

The bar—per every Friday night—was hopping. Round tables were filled with customers, old and young, and the noise was deafening. However, that was exactly how the owners liked their customers—jovial, bawdy, and just there for a good time.

Katniss looked around before waving at one particular waitress before reaching her usual table in the middle of the room. As she pulled out a chair and sat down, another woman approached with a group of her girlfriends.

“This is our table,” she stated before looking to her friends who snickered in approval.

Katniss smirked, clasping her hands and placing them on the table. “No, it’s not.”

“I know the owner and he said that it was my table,” she persisted. “So, you can just move—there’s room for you at the bar.”

“I’m pretty sure that he didn’t,” Katniss stated plainly.

Agitated, the girl placed a hand on her hip jutting it out aggressively. “How do you know?”

“Because he’s our Dad and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t say yes to someone who’s insulting the heir apparent to his business.”

A golden-haired waitress, blue eyes cool and strong stance, appeared before the woman.

“My sister has had this table reserved since she spit up on it as baby—not to mention, I’m pretty sure that she was conceived on top of it.” The waitress nodded her head towards the exit. “Now, beat it before you make the wall of people barred from Everdeen Spirits.”

The women quickly scurried away, and Prim snorted before turning to her sister.

Katniss stood up, hands on her hips. “Do you really have to tell everyone that story?”

“It’s gives the table a little more distinctiveness,” Prim responded easily. “Plus, I’m pretty sure our parents have had sex on at least one of these tables. I mean, I caught them making out behind the bar just last night.”

“Gross.” Katniss pulled her sister into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you!”

“Well, that’s what happens when you move to the city with your boyfriend!” They both sat down. “How is living in sin with Peeta going?”

Katniss frowned, resting back against her seat. “It’s been good—but lately, he’s been…different.”

Prim leaned in curiously. “How so?”

“He’s been working a lot lately,” she explained. “Then, there are mysterious phone calls where he hangs up right when I walk into the room and he’s been skittish.” Katniss turned to his sister. “We’ve known Peeta since we were kids—he has a tell. When he’s lying or doing something obviously stupid, he does this adorable thing where he scratches the back of his head…like he’s trying to come up with a good excuse for whatever he did.”

Prim look unconvinced.

“You’re right,” Prim replied. “We’ve known Peeta long enough to know that when he’s lying or hiding something, he’ll get caught.” She flashed her sister a smile. “The man loves you and you’ve been blissfully shacking up with him for a year now. Trust him.”

“And, you don’t think that he might be cheating on me?”

Prim reached, smacking her in the back of her head.

Katniss scowled. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Because you sound like a dumbass,” her sister retorted. “You love him?”

She sighed, nodding her head. “Yes.”

“Then relax, enjoy Thanksgiving week with our crazy-ass family, and get excited for karaoke!”

“Since when do we have karaoke at the bar?” Katniss asked with a smile.

“Since drunk people love to post videos of themselves or their friends singing ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ and tagging our bar,” Prim said. “I told Dad that it would be great for business and he agreed. Sometimes he even goes up there and sings—you know he has a voice of an angel.”

Katniss could see Darius, one of the head bartenders, setting up the microphone on the small makeshift stage.

“Oh yeah. Practically stole Mom’s heart with that voice.” Katniss smiled softly. “It’s nice to be home.”

Prim leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

“It’s great to have you home. I’ll have Vick bring your usual.”

With that, her sister stood up and headed back to the bar.

++++++

Once karaoke got started, Katniss put her thoughts on Peeta aside. Prim was right; there wasn’t a bad bone in Peeta’s body, it was why she fell in love with him.

What was once a childhood friendship had turned into love during a middle school dance. After being dumped by her boyfriend, Cato, for a girl who looked like her but had bigger boobs, Peeta had come to her rescue and asked her to dance.

Then, under an overabundance of streamers and the sound of slow jams on the speakers, Peeta Mellark became her boyfriend.

Surprisingly to a lot of people, they had remained together from high school through college—attending separate campuses—up until now. She worked as a paralegal for Haymitch Abernathy, a prominent Manhattan lawyer while Peeta worked as a sous chef for famed chef, Beetee Latier.

They were content with their life together.

At least, she thought they were.

The volume of the crowd heightened when her father crossed the stage. Richard Everdeen, with his salt and pepper hair and kind coal eyes, became everyone’s dad as soon as they entered his bar and it was apparent in the appreciative applause as he took to the microphone.

“Hello darling!” Katniss turned to find her mother pulling out a chair across from her. They embraced before sitting down. “I would have been out sooner, but I was having a hell of a time dealing with these wine distributors.”

“It’s alright,” she told her mother. “You didn’t miss anything but a round of Journey songs and a really good rendition of ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody.’”

“I really just came to the front for your Dad.” Her mother’s blue eyes went soft at the man on stage. “And you, of course.”

Katniss chuckled. “Thanks Mom.”

“Oh, you know I love my first-born baby!” She gathered Katniss against her. “But I’m always hot for my man!”

“And, you wonder why you two were never popular with the other parents,” she responded.

Her parents were great, but they were a little more…boisterous than the staid parents that often ran the events at the girls’ schools. That never bothered Katniss or Prim though as their parents were as supportive as any parents could be.

The girls were often the top sellers during fundraising events as patrons at the bar would buy anything to support the Everdeen girls. Or whereas a parent might run a cotton candy booth during the annual springtime carnival, the Everdeens were the ones who ran the dunk tank which often featured her father promising a free bottle of wine or soda for anyone who dunked him.

“Who needs popularity?” her mother said. “We have each other.” She looked around. “Where’s Peeta?”

“He should be along,” Katniss said. “Had to work late…but he should be here soon—I hope.”

Peeta had texted his apologies, but he was once again caught up with the restaurant. He spent less time in their apartment the more successful he became.

Her mother gave her shoulder a squeeze. “He’ll be here sooner than you think.”

Katniss nodded, turning her attention to her father.

“Anyway, thank you for coming in for this new thing we’re doing. My girl Prim’s idea—” The crowd whooped and cheered for Prim who did a curtsey from the front of the bar. “It’s a joy to hear all your beautiful voices—”

“SING!” someone called out from the crowd.

Katniss looked around quickly before turning back to her dad.

“I guess we’re getting a request,” her Dad said with a humble smile. “I’m going to dedicate this to my wife. Pearl, darling, this might be a little past our time, but I think you’ll enjoy for many reasons. Also, Katniss, my oldest girl, is back home so I think she’ll enjoy this as well.”

The familiar strains of the song began, and it was like she was 12 again—all legs and arms with no tits, but feeling the beginning of womanhood and the beginning of love.

“Darlin' I, I can't explain

Where did we lose our way?

Girl, it's drivin' me insane

And I know I just need one more chance

To prove my love to you—”

There was a scrape of a chair and suddenly Peeta was sitting right next to her.

“Peeta!” She beamed at him. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

Peeta pressed a kiss to her lips. “Sorry I took so long…Beetee is so panicked about making sure that the holiday menu goes as planned.” He turned to Katniss’ mother. “Hey Mrs. Everdeen.”

“Hey sweetheart.” She stood up. “I’m going to grab a snack for you two—”

“Mom, it’s alright,” Katniss assured her.

“No, no…” Her mother was already heading away. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back!”

Katniss turned to Peeta, who took her hand. “I guess she’s giving us alone time.” She smiled at him. “I really am glad you’re here. Truthfully, I’ve been a little worried about us.”

Peeta frowned. “Why?”

“You’ve been so busy…and sometimes I feel like you’re keeping something from me,” she replied.

“I’m sorry.” Peeta gazed at her, earnestness in those blue eyes of his. “I don’t know why you put up with me sometimes.”

“Because I love you, dummy.” His mouth widened at her words and she slid her hand to his cheek. “Always.”

Peeta covered the hand on his cheek with his own. “Always.” He looked to Katniss’ father and nodded a hello. “Do you remember this song?”

“Of course,” she replied. “It was the first song we danced to—when I got dumped for being Miss No-Boobs.”

“Trust me, the boobs came and more than made up for the delay,” Peeta told her with grin. He stood up. “Dance with me.”

She looked around the crowded bar as everyone listened to her father singing the chorus. Some people were even singing along. “Here?”

“Yes. I want to dance with my girl,” Peeta insisted as he stood up, pulling her along. He wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close. “I remember being so nervous when I asked you.”

“You were my hero,” she replied as they began to sway. “Imagine I was thinking that I was so heartbroken over Cato when you were in front of me all that time.”

Peeta met her eyes, suddenly nervous.

“I’m really sorry if I’ve been neglecting you. It’s just that I realized something; I don’t want you to be my girlfriend.”

Her heart suddenly ceased to beat, and she pushed away from him, her eyes filling.

“Then you don’t have to be.”

Katniss turned but Peeta still held her hand. “Katniss—”

“Let go!” She was full on sobbing in front of everyone. “I don’t need to hear anymore.”

Peeta obliged her and let go.

Katniss pushed past the rush of people, wiping her eyes. She couldn’t believe that he was dumping her in her family’s bar, on Thanksgiving week—

“I'm gonna swallow my pride

Say I'm sorry

Stop pointing fingers the blame is on me—”

Why the hell was Peeta singing?

She turned as the crowd parted and Peeta, mic in hand, walked towards her.

“I want a new life

And I want it with you

If you feel the same

Don't ever let it go…”

“What the fuck are you doing—”

Peeta stopped in front of her, falling to his knees, as he continued to belt out the bridge of the Boyz II Men ballad.

“You gotta believe in the spirit of love

It'll heal all things

It won't hurt anymore

No I don't believe our love's terminal

I'm down on my knees begging you please…”

“You really should get off the floor,” Katniss told him. “It’s disgusting.”

“Not until you hear me out,” Peeta told her.

Her dad was suddenly by their side and Peeta handed the mic to him. The music stopped and the whole bar turned silent.

“I don’t want you to be my girlfriend, Katniss, because you are so much more than that. You’re my best friend, my biggest supporter, my guidepost, and advisor…because I do some dumb shit sometimes—”

She scoffed. “That’s for sure.”

“And, just like that, you keep it real. You’re also my soulmate,” he continued. Reaching into his pocket, Peeta present her with a velvet box. “I’ve already mucked this up, but hopefully this will help you understand.”

Her hands shaking, Katniss took the box and opened it. “It’s a ring.”

Peeta chuckled.

“That it is. A pearl in the middle because you love them so much—and of course, it’s your mother’s name,” Peeta explained. “The two diamonds to the left and the right are for your father and Prim. If you look at the outside of the band, there’s a small engraving of the signet that I found when I was doing research about the Mellark family during our senior year and if you look inside—”

Katniss pulled the ring out and looked inside.

“Always,” she read out thickly.

“I don’t want you as my girlfriend. I want you as my wife,” Peeta told her. “So, I’m on bended knee—on this beer-stained floor—asking you if you will please…please…be my wife.”

From out of nowhere, her mother pushed her forward. “For God’s sake, Katniss, say yes to the boy!”

“Yeah,” Prim said from the bar. “That floor is so gross and I’m pretty sure he’s wearing Armani.”

“Will all Everdeens please shut up—” Katniss called out. She joined Peeta, going to her knees, and looking into his eyes. “—so I can say yes to the man who’s loved me since before my boobs came in?”

Peeta blinked back in shock. “You’re saying yes?”

“I’m saying hell yes.”

Katniss watched as Peeta slid the ring on her finger with trembling hands.

Standing up together, her fiancé pulled her close to cover her mouth in a deep kiss.

“She said yes!” Her father bellowed to the crowd. “Free beer for everyone!”

The bar erupted in cheers as Prim, wiping her eyes, dashed behind the bar to help the bartenders serve.

Richard held his hand out to his wife. “I guess we’re having a wedding.”

Pearl wrapped an arm her husband’s waist.

“Our daughter must really love Peeta,” she said, watching the newly engaged couple, lost in each other’s embrace. “Because with a voice like that—”

“Well, let’s just hope that the children don’t inherit his voice.”

FIN.

Song: “On Bended Knee” -Boyz II Men

#Everlark fanfiction #Everlark #Fluff #ModernAu!Everlark

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bamon4bamily · 5 years ago

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TVD 9x06 (part 3) Enjoy! =)

Bonnie wakes up, lying on what remains of Darius’s room. Darius, lying close by, still unconscious. His illusion realm has been broken, but at what cost? Bonnie looks at the devastation…

BONNIE: What have I done...?! Damon, Damon!… (She desperately searches through the debris to find him… there is no way he could’ve survived that blast).

DARIUS: (As he regains consciousness) I think it’s safe to say, you burnt him to ashes, love.

BONNIE: You are literally like a cockroach…

DARIUS: They don’t get nearly enough credit. I must admit, Bonnie, I was not expecting your gameplay… hit me from the inside, very smart. Unfortunately (looks around), there had to be consequences… Aw (grabs some ashes from the floor), poor Damon, I’m assuming this is him, or at least part of him anyway. Not only did he have to endure the pain of seeing his beloved with another man; he had to die because of her… just tragic. Maybe if he had more neurons rather than testosterone, he could have made it…

BONNIE: Arrogance… that’s always been your Achilles heel. You think you are smarter than anyone but you’re not; you might be book smart, I’ll give you that, but you’re an idiot when it comes to emotions. You are weak, Darius, straight-up, just a fucking crazy asshole, and I’m really tired of those... (Her eyes become pitch dark, everything begins to shake; the scenery starts to change from the mansion ruins into an old Insane Asylum).

DARIUS: Bonnie?!... What are you doing?! Stop!!

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DARIUS: (Now restrained with a straight jacket) How are you doing this? Illusions are my thing...

BONNIE: I picked up some tricks from your little house of horrors… thanks for that (winks). Guess you should have stuck to genetics.

DARIUS: Bonnie, please don’t... I can help you. Teach you how to control it.

BONNIE: I don’t need your help.

DARIUS: You killed the man you love because you couldn’t control your powers; trust me, you need my help.

BONNIE: Again, with the ego, and grandiose delusions … (Someone opens the door) Looks like it’s time for your medication…

DARIUS: (In disbelief) No...No! How?!

DAMON: (Dressed as a Doctor, holding a syringe) Gotta say, Bon, I think we deserve an Oscar for this one…

BONNIE: (She wraps her arms around his neck) Oh, we totally do! (They kiss).

DAMON: (Up in his face) You see, you little piece of shit, no matter how high you score on a test, or how many Frankenstein experiments and illusions you cook up, you ain’t got shit on us. We are the Batman and Robin, Bonnie & Clyde, Scooby & Shaggy, Holmes & Watson, Mulder & Skully, pb&j, of the operation; understand?

BONNIE: Plus, we actually do share a psychic bond, so he (referring to Damon) knew all along. Maybe you should pay more attention to what strange men tell you...

DAMON: Now, it’s my turn to play Doctor...

(As Damon is about to inject him; Danae, dressed as Nurse, comes in).

DANAE: Please, let me do the honors… (Damon gives her the syringe) I’ll take it from here.

DAMON: Well, Bon-Bon, that’s our cue to leave; we don’t want to get in the middle of their family drama… (they hold hands, as they are about to walk out, Bonnie turns around).

BONNIE: Oh, and just so you know, this (referring to her illusion realm) is my little house of horrors… and, unlike yours, there are no loopholes… guess the pupil does surpass the master. Enjoy! (Blows him a kiss). (To Danae) He’s all yours… (Damon and Bonnie leave).

DANAE: (Holding the syringe to his eyeball) Hello, brother…

Cut to – a little while later, Damon’s car; Damon and Bonnie are driving back to the Salvatore house. Bonnie is behind the wheel.

DAMON: I’m glad this is finally over, Bon.

BONNIE: Me, too…

DAMON: As much as I hate to admit it, there was a moment or two when I thought he’d figure us out… and I was terrified.

BONNIE: We’ve fought vampires, witches, werewolves, hybrids, heretics, psychics, sirens, the devil himself! But Darius has been the hardest to beat because it wasn’t about physical or magical powers, it was about inner strength; being strong enough not to be broken from the inside.

DAMON: (Kisses her cheek) You are amazing…

BONNIE: (Teasing) And, officially, the most terrifying person you know, am I right? (Transitions into a worried look) This Bonneficent persona of mine caused some serious damage…

DAMON: Bon, it was an illusion; you didn’t actually hurt anyone.

BONNIE: But I could…so many.

DAMON: No, you couldn’t; it’s not who you are.

BONNIE: I’m not sure I know who or what I am anymore…

DAMON: Bon, stop the car.

BONNIE: What?

DAMON: Just, please, stop the car. (She pulls over). Come with me. (They get out of the car).

BONNIE: Damon, what are you doing? We are in the middle of nowhere… (He lies down on the ground looking up at the sky, signals her to join him; she lies down next to him, he holds her hand).

DAMON: (Pointing at the sky) Look…

BONNIE: It’s beautiful…

DAMON: It’s beyond beautiful… I don’t think there are words to express just how magnificent it is… and; it all started with a big bang. That, right there, Bon, that’s who you are… never forget that.

BONNIE: (Kisses him) Thank you for this… (They cuddle and stare at the sky, then, without Damon noticing, she uses her telekinetic powers to play the intro song from the Bing Bang Theory show on her phone; she cracks up).

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BONNIE: I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist!

DAMON: (Teasing) Oh, you think it’s funny, do you? (He huggles and tickles her; they laugh, then kiss...). So, I have some blankets in the trunk, how about we stay here for the night, watch the sunrise; head back in the morning?

BONNIE: I love the idea (they kiss, cuddle, laugh and stare at the sky the entire night).

Cut to – early next morning, the Salvatore house. Damon and Bonnie walk through the door; as soon as she walks in, Caroline, who has been waiting anxiously for them to arrive, runs to hug Bonnie. Stefan, who has been waiting with her, runs to hug Damon).

CAROLINE: Bonnie!

STEFAN: Brother!

CAROLINE: Can I just say, you two are the best actors, ever!

STEFAN: I second that.

CAROLINE: (To Bonnie) You’ll have to run me through it once more, I totally got confused when you tried to explain it to me over the phone. But, for now, how about some breakfast? I know they might not be the best, but I made pancakes; so, be nice, and eat them.

BONNIE: What are you talking about, Care? I love your pancakes!

DAMON: She’s a natural. (Smirks; they go to the kitchen; Alaric is setting the table).

ALARIC: Bonnie! (Hugs her) I’m so happy you’re okay. You really had us worried there but I must say, your plan was absolutely perfect.

BONNIE: Sorry we had to leave you guys out, it was the only way it would be believable.

ALARIC: I know. (To Damon) Hey, buddy (bro hug). I always knew you could put on an act, but you deserve a standing ovation for this one; had me completely fooled.

DAMON: What can I say, Ric, it’s one of my many talents (winks). Unlike teaching which is why I had to resign.

ALARIC: And we’re glad you did, we were gonna fire you anyway.

BONNIE: So, how is Katherine doing? Did she snap out of it yet?

KATHERINE: (Leaning on the door frame) Aw, Bon… it’s nice to know you care…

CAROLINE: Much to our regret, she’s back to her old self… Though I’m curious as to why she is still here. (To Katherine) Your, not so helpful, work here is done.

KATHERINE: Don’t worry, Blondie, I’ll be gone by the end of the day. Packing takes time, especially when you are Katherine Pierce.

BONNIE: What happened to you?

KATHERINE: Some good old fashioned haunting; and, let me tell you, it is not pretty! Wouldn’t wish that on anybody... not even you, Goldielocks. I’m guessing the spirits didn’t mess with you because they were too busy screwing with me… you’re welcome. (To Caroline) So, as you can see, I was actually very helpful, unlike you, Barbie.

JOSIE AND LIZ: (The twins come in) Aunt, Bonnie! Uncle Damon! (They hug them).

BONNIE: Hello, pretty ladies, want some breakfast? Your mom made pancakes. (They make a face; she whispers to them) Oh, come on, they are not that bad… (They all sit down and have breakfast). So, where are Elena and Sam? Don’t tell me they went back to Whitmore, I really wanted to see her.

CAROLINE: They stayed at Matt’s; they’ll be here later.

BONNIE: How is he doing?

CAROLINE: Not sure, to be honest. Even after you broke the illusion, and Edward was able to get him out of that freaky bunker, Elena told me he still doesn’t seem like himself…

JOSIE: What kind of party did you go to, mommy? (Alaric signals Caroline to change the subject, the girls have no idea what really went down).

CAROLINE: (Making things up as she goes along) It was one of those…uhm... escape room thingies… you know? The ones where you have to escape the room...

ALARIC: (Trying to deviate from an almost certain Care screw up). It was a pretty bad party; Anyway; how about we go hiking today?

JOSIE AND LIZZY: Yes, yes!!!

JOSIE: Aunt Bonnie, will you come?

BONNIE: I’d love to! I just need a little time to rest. How about we finish breakfast, I’ll take a short nap to recharge, then we’ll head out.

LIZZY: Yei!! Uncle, Damon, you’ll come too?

DAMON: Of course, munchkins; but I also need a nap.

CAROLINE: (Being Caroline) Like you two will actually get any sleep…

BONNIE: Care! The girls…

CAROLINE: Oh…oops… what I mean to say is that Aunt Bonnie, and Uncle Damon, have a hard time falling asleep sometimes…

ALARIC: Caroline, just let it go.

DAMON: (To Caroline, as he is putting the empty plates in the sink) I have to say, Care Bear, you are getting the hang of this; they were pretty good (referring to the pancakes).

CAROLINE: (With pride) I knew it!

DAMON: (Grabs the syrup jar with both his hands and takes a bow) I’d like to thank the Academy...

CAROLINE: You’re such a dick!

BONNIE: Care! The girls…

CAROLINE: A dick… Tracy… I mean. You know, like the detective?

STEFAN: (Laughing) Oh, Care…

JOSIE: (Whispering to Alaric) Daddy, is mommy okay?

ALARIC: She’s fine, just tired.

DAMON: So, Bon; how about we get our zzzz on (takes her hand, they leave).

Cut to – Matt, Khuyana, and Tyler’s house. Matt and Khuyana in bed.

KHUYANA: I’m so thankful they got you out of there; I thought I’d lost you for good this time.

MATT: Not a chance… (kisses her). I’m so sorry you had to go through that; I completely lost myself inside that psycho’s mind games.

KHUYANA: I can’t imagen the horror you must have felt...

MATT: More like desperation; not being able to act on my own free will, being confused about who I was, and what I was doing there… really screwed with my head…

KHUYANA: (Hugs him) Well, as much as I dislike Edward, I have to thank him for getting you out of that place.

MATT: Me too; he risked a lot by doing that.

KHUYANA: How about we have him over for dinner to thank him. Do you think he’d come?

MATT: If you invite him, he won’t be able to say no.

KHUYANA: Great! I can invite Klaus too, he also helped to get you out, right?

MATT: Nah, he was there to get his friend Danae, could have cared less about me.

KHUYANA: Okay, he’s off the list then.

MATT: (Gets up) I’m gonna go check on Tyler, and see if Elena and Sam are up (kisses her on the cheek).

KHUYANA: Tell you what, I’ll make us some breakfast. How do some yuquitas sound? I’m sure Sam will appreciate it.

MATT: Yum, yes!! That sounds perfect! (Kisses her and walks out).

Cut to Damon’s room – Damon and Bonnie are taking a nap. Damon has his arms around her. She wakes up suddenly.

BONNIE: No… (gets up and goes into the bathroom. She pours some water on her face, stares in the mirror… (Damon knocks) Come in.

DAMON: Hey, you okay?

BONNIE: I’m fine, had another nightmare is all…

DAMON: (Holds her in his arms, worried) That’s not supposed to happen anymore; he’s gone…

BONNIE: I think it’s just the aftermath, they’ll go away eventually… they have to, right?

DAMON: (Holds her even tighter) They will, I promise.

Listen, we don’t have to go hiking if you don’t want to; we can stay here, watch some GOT and veg out, if you prefer.

BONNIE: I think a hike will do us good. (Kisses him).

DAMON: (Holding her cheeks and looking deep into her eyes) I love you, Bon Bon...

BONNIE: I love you too (they kiss).

DAMON: And, no matter how long it takes, we will find our way back to normal.

BONNIE: I’m sure we will… our kind of normal, anyway (they smile in complicity, kiss and hold each other tight).

Cut to – Sam and Elena, in one of the guest rooms at the Lockwood mansion.

SAM: I know we are not leaving today; after everything that has happened, I understand you wanting to stay. But, I need to know if it will happen, eventually?

ELENA: Yes, of course, I promise. I just need some time to make sure Bonnie will be okay; give me a week, two tops?

SAM: I’ll give you as much time as you need, I just want to make sure that it’s still what you want.

ELENA: It is, more than anything...

SAM: Good... (they kiss, as they start to make out, she gets a text).

ELENA: It’s Matt... he says Khuyana is making something called yoyitas for breakfast...

SAM: (Laughs) They are called yuquitas, and they are delicious!

ELENA: Let’s go then, I’m starving! We’ll have to make it quick though, Caroline wants us at her house in an hour so we can go hiking.

SAM: Sounds like fun, and normal. After this insane series of events, I really need some normal.

ELENA: Me too…

Cut to – The Mayor’s house. Edward, The Madame, and The Strange Man.

THE MADAME: Well, now that the Bennett witch took care of our Darius problem, can we move along with the rest of the plan? I’m getting somewhat impatient.

EDWARD: Patience, darling; we will get to it. But first, I have to clean up after Darius’s little mess, as per usual. For now, relax and indulge... just, for god’s sake, clean yourself up (she is all bloody from her breakfast dish). Anthony might be as discrete as they come but I don’t like him being exposed to these types of things.

STRANGE MAN: I can take care of that (licks the blood clean from her neck). Listen, I’m fine with taking some time for leisure; as long as you don’t deviate and lose focus like our friend Darius did.

EDWARD: I won’t. The difference between him and me is that I serve a higher purpose, not my ego.

THE MADAME: Who has the chess piece now?

EDWARD: The Sheriff.

STRANGE MAN: I don’t get it, he seems so expendable. Are you positive, he is the guy?

EDWARD: Beyond a doubt.

THE MADAME: And what about the bunker?

EDWARD: I got what we needed, took care of the rest...

TVD 9x07 (part 1) coming soon! Hope you stop by, read, and enjoy! =)

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omgjasminesimone · 6 years ago

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The Hot Exchange Student Part 1

Logan x MC (Ellie)

Next Part: Part 2

Author’s Note: I have a Logan ficlet queued to post at 7 AM PST for Logan RoDAW day, but then I had this idea and couldn’t resist writing it up. At first it was going to be a one-shot, but now I realize it has to be a series. Even though I told myself my next series will be Colt x MC (I’m still going to write that one eventually). This is my first Choices AU, since I’ve been reading so many great AUs lately and now I’m inspired!

Summary: Logan is an exchange student from Detroit. He arrives at LAX to meet his hosts for the semester, Ellie Wheeler and her father, who just so happens to be a Detective who’s very protective of his only daughter.

Word Count: 2000

“….I didn’t think we’d be hosting a boy.” Detective Wheeler complains again, as he and Ellie wait by the luggage claim at LAX for the exchange student they’re hosting this Fall semester.

Ellie adjusts the sign she’s carrying so Logan can find them. The sign simply says Logan. His application didn’t include a last name, or a photo. The only info the Wheelers have is that Logan is a high school Junior, like Ellie, and he’s coming from South Detroit High School in Michigan.

"I think they usually try to pair the same gender, so there must have been more boys than girls this semester.” Ellie explains.

“Had I known they were going to place a teenage boy in my house, I wouldn’t have agreed to do this Ellie.”

Ellie rolls her eyes. “Dad, what are you worried about? You know you can trust me. I promise you Logan will not be sneaking into my room in the middle of the night.” Considering that Ellie has yet to go out on a date, or even kiss a boy, her dad’s fears are completely unwarranted.

“I do trust you Ellie. It’s him I don’t trust.”

“You haven’t even met him yet Dad. Don’t rush to judgement so quickly. And this is going to look really good on my college applications so please don’t make him want to go back home.”

Detective Wheeler sighs, “Fine, I’ll play nice.”

“Thank you.”

Many teenage boys exit through the automatic doors from the terminal, and each time Ellie holds her breath for a moment, wondering if it’s Logan. But they all pass, giving no attention to her homemade sign. The flow of people starts to trickle, and still no Logan. Ellie frowns, lowering the sign to the floor. She turns to her dad. “Do you think he missed his flight?”

Before Detective Wheeler can respond, another teenage boy comes out of the terminal. He’s carrying a backpack, rolling a yellow and black carry-on bag. He glances around for a moment, and then his brown eyes meet hers from across the room. She tentatively lifts the sign again, he reads it, and then he smiles at her.

Her heart literally skips a beat. Okay, maybe her dad was right to be concerned about this whole arrangement.

Logan is insanely hot. His hair is on the long side, and there’s really no word for his brown locks besides luscious. His eyes are piercing, his smile charming, his arms which are left exposed by his tight white t-shirt veiny and muscular. She can only assume there are more muscles under the t-shirt. Ellie prays her face isn’t as red as she thinks it must be as he approaches.

“The Wheelers?” Logan asks. Oh God, she even likes his voice.

Words fail her, so she just nods enthusiastically. Logan smiles at her again, or is that a smirk? Why is he so hot?!

Detective Wheeler offers his hand for a handshake, “Nice to meet you Logan. Detective Kyle Wheeler. And this is my daughter Ellie.”

Logan shakes the offered hand, “Nice to meet you both. Thanks for hosting me.”

Ellie clears her throat, hoping she can speak to him without stuttering. “Do we need to wait for your checked bag?”

“Nah, I didn’t check a bag. I don’t own a lot of stuff.” Logan answers, adjusting his backpack.

“Well, let’s get back to the house then. Welcome to Los Angeles.” Mr. Wheeler greets.

…

“And this will be your room.” Ellie concludes the house tour, turning on the light in what had been their guest bedroom and then standing aside so Logan can pass.

Logan drops his backpack to the floor, leaving his carry on by the door as he walks around the room, surveying the space with his hands in his jean pockets. “This is really nice.” He’s making an observation, not complimenting the house, Ellie notes.

“Different than your room in Detroit?” Ellie asks to make conversation.

“Very.” He replies shortly.

When he doesn’t offer anything else, Ellie figures she should let him settle in. “Well, I’ll let you get some sleep. You must be tired from the flight.”

“I’m not that tired. It’s only a five-hour flight.” He sits on the mattress, bouncing a little to test it out. “This is so soft.” He notes, leaning back on his hands. His gaze suddenly turns to her. “So, what’s your deal?”

Ellie frowns, puzzled as she leans against the wall. “My deal?”

“Like, what made you want to host an exchange student? It’s kind of a weird thing to do, open up your home to some stranger from across the country.” Logan clarifies.

Ellie shrugs. “We have a big house. It’s just me and my dad. I thought it would be nice to have some more life in the house.” She doesn’t mention that since her mom died a couple of years ago, having all her dad’s focus on her makes her anxious, the house is too quiet, they sometimes sit at dinner together in an uncomfortable silence. Ellie also doesn’t mention her Langston college application, how this will show her ability to emphasize, mentor, and all those other buzzwords she’s planning to use in her admission essay.

Logan’s stare starts to unnerve her. Ellie clears her throat. “Why’d you want to come? Do you have dreams of Los Angeles stardom?”

Logan smirks at her. “Nah. They don’t actually let you pick the place you know. I just figured wherever they sent me, had to be better than my situation in Detroit.”

She’s about to ask him what his situation in Detroit is, but her dad appears in the open doorway. “What do you think Logan? Is the room up to your standards? Sorry it’s a little undecorated, Ellie and I weren’t sure what teenage boys like nowadays.”

Logan’s gaze flickers to Ellie for a split second before he looks around the room. “This is exactly what I like.”

…

“Hmmm….we have Spanish and P.E. together, but that’s it.” Ellie notes as she looks over Logan’s schedule after they collect it from the registration table outside the building.

Logan looks around the Mar Vista Prep parking lot, there are some really nice cars here. There most be a lot of spoiled rich kids at this school. “Probably because you’re smarter than me. I see a lot of AP classes on your schedule.” Logan responds as they head into the building.

Ellie blushes. “I’m not that smart you know. I just study a lot.”

“I’ve noticed.” Logan arrived in Los Angeles a week before the school year started. Ellie has been a great host, taking him to the beach, In N’ Out, Griffith Observatory, all the tourist hot spots during the day, but every night she studies. It’s kind of bizarre to him. He’s never met anyone like her before.

Logan follows Ellie through the halls. “This is your first period class Logan. We’re on block schedule, so I’ll meet you here in 2 hours and we can walk to 3rd period Spanish together.”

“Can’t wait.” Logan flirts, enjoying the rush of red that floods her cheeks. She’s fun to rile up. Ellie is cute, but not the kind of girl he usually goes for. In Detroit, he picks up girls at sideshows. Those girls don’t spend their Friday evenings studying for the PSATs. Additionally, he’s living with her and her father, so it would definitely be a bad idea to move past innocent flirtation. Despite this, his gaze falls to her pink lips anyway.

He’s making her nervous. He seems to have that effect on her. “Have a good day!” Ellie waves before covering her blushing face, hurrying off to her own class.

In third period Spanish, Logan meets Ingrid.

“You’re Ellie’s exchange student? I thought they weren’t supposed to mix genders! They gave me this awkward girl from Canada who never speaks, while Ellie gets a hottie like you.” Ingrid complains.

“Maybe if you were nicer to her, she’d speak to you Ingrid.” Ellie interrupts, drumming her fingers against her desk irritably.

Logan raises an eyebrow. Seems like those two have a whole thing.

Ingrid glares at Ellie, who she wasn’t speaking to. “They probably figured you were the safest to mix with Wheeler because obviously nothing is going to happen with a prude like you.” Ingrid retorts.

The classroom fills with snickers at Ellie expense, which Logan doesn’t like. But before he can say anything, Ingrid continues. “Hey Logan, Brent is throwing a back to school party this weekend at his house. His parents are in Europe. Brent throws the best parties, and it will be a good chance to meet people. I worry you won’t get the full LA high school experience being stuck with Ellie. Most of us actually do more than just study.”

“The best parties? Ellie, how are Brent’s parties?” Logan turns to look at her, and she freezes under his gaze.

“I wouldn’t know. I’m never invited.” She reveals.

Logan turns back to Ingrid. “Is Ellie invited?”

Ingrid sputters for a moment. “I mean….I don’t know why you’d even want her there, but sure. Brent’s parties are an open invitation kind of thing.”

Logan leans back in his seat, smiling charmingly at Ingrid. “We’ll think about it.”

…

Ellie sighs as she adjusts her black lace romper, putting her ombre hair into an Ariana Grande inspired high ponytail instead of her usual braid. She shouldn’t have let Logan talk her into going to this party. Parties aren’t her scene. Not that she’s ever been to a real high school party, but she’s seen them in movies. She assumes there will be loud music, and underage drinking, and maybe 7 minutes in heaven? That happens in some of the movies, that or spin the bottle. That’s not her scene. She’ll probably just stand awkwardly in the corner with Riya and Darius all night while Logan grinds on Ingrid.

A cheery knock sounds on her door, and she opens it for Logan. He’s dressed the same as usual, albeit darker jeans. But there’s no need to fix what isn’t broken. As always, Logan looks really good. He gives her a quick look over. “You look really nice Ellie.” God, he’s smiling at her again. She tries to fight down her blush that arises with such simple praise. She really needs to get a grip.

“My dad wants to talk to us before we leave.”

Logan nods, “Lead the way.”

Ellie and Logan head down to the living room and take a seat on the couch. Mr. Wheeler sits in the recliner across from the pair.

“You look nice Ellie.” Her dad comments, taking in her outfit.

“Thanks Dad.”

Mr. Wheeler turns his gaze to Logan. “Logan, you’ll look out for Ellie right? Make sure no one slips anything into her punch, that there aren’t strange boys around her, that-“

“Dad.” Ellie interrupts. “I’ll be fine.”

Logan nods. “I’ve got her Mr. Wheeler.”

“Okay, you guys need to be back by 10:00 PM”

Logan frowns. “You’re giving us a 10:00 PM curfew on a Friday night?”

Mr. Wheeler frowns back. “What’s your curfew at home Logan?”

“I don’t have one.” Logan answers.

“Well, I’m clearly not as lax as your parents. Nothing good happens after 10:00 PM, so I would prefer you both be home by then.”

“It’s already 8:00 now, and we have a 10:00 curfew?” Logan continues to challenge.

Mr. Wheeler’s eyes narrow, he’s not used to back talk. Ellie always does what he says. “10:30 then.” He replies.

Logan looks like he wants to argue more, but Ellie knows her dad much better than he does. Mr. Wheeler’s next move will be not letting them go at all. She places a hand on Logan’s knee to stop him from saying anything else. Her dad catches that, frowning, so Ellie quickly takes her hand off of Logan.

“10:30. We’ve got it.” Ellie agrees.

Riya’s distinctive honk sounds from outside, breaking the tension in the room. Ellie quickly gets up, Logan following after her. “Bye Dad, I love you!” Ellie calls as the pair head out the door.

Detective Wheeler just frowns as he watches them go.

…

Author’s Note: I’m aiming to put out part 2 on Logan RoDAW day, let me know if you’d liked to be tagged!

Taglist (Logan x MC/RoD, I think this is right, let me know if you want to be added or removed!): @choicesarehard @ifyouseekheart @brightpinkpeppercorn @regina-and-happiness @choicelogansbitch @flyawayboo @fairydustandsarcasm @alesana45 @umiumichan @maxwellsquidsuit @professorortegasstudent @god-save-the-keen @mrsmckenziesworld @paisleylovergirl @iplaydrake @sinclaire-made-me-sin @hazah @lovehugsandcandy @desiree-0816 @cora-nova @justdani14 @lady-dianelewis @emceesynonymroll

#ride or die #logan x mc #logan rod #choices fanfiction #choices #playchoices

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queenkaneko · 6 years ago

Text

Test of Faith

Pairing: Colt Kaneko x MC (Ellie)

Word Count: 2753

A/N: Surprise! I’m posting a day early this week! I’ve been debating this for a while but Thursdays are going to be the new day for this series. Fridays just get so crazy with all the books that air, so this works better for everyone. I am STILL working on getting a few chapters ahead of schedule so I don’t have to worry about not having a new chapter to post when life gets in the way. I recently moved from Texas to Florida and my life has been kind of crazy the last few weeks. I’m behind on all kinds of stuff. But bare with me, I promise to get caught up as soon as I can and I have great content coming. Anyway, same time as usual still, the only thing changing is the day. Sorry for the super long A/N. Enjoy!

Summary: Ellie has a crazy plan and isn’t as confident about it as she seems. When the rest of the crew shows up to help, will she be ready to do her part?

Part Six

The kitchen was dead silent, Colt staring at Ellie, who seemed unfazed as she went back to examining her laptop. He glanced at it, seeing she’d somehow managed to find the blueprints of Metropolitan Detention Center and was scribbling notes on her notepad. Colt was both amazed and worried at the same time, not knowing how he should feel that his girlfriend wanted to try and break someone out of jail. “Ellie this is insane. You know that, right?”

Ellie looked up, giving him a half smile. “I know. But what choice do we have? We need her, Colt. Not only that…she nearly died for me. I owe her this. She’s in there because of me.” Ellie felt her chest tighten, remembering Mona’s blood slicking her hands, the words she’d said to her outside Ardizzone ringing in her ears. “You wanted freedom? The fast cars, the bad boy? That whole life? This is it. And it’s not for you.” For the first time since she’d woken up before the sun with this idea in her head, she faltered. This would never work. Maybe Mona was right. Maybe she was in over head.

Suddenly, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. It was almost a year ago now, since she and Colt had argued in the private lounge of the casino. Ellie barely even thought about those words these days, they’d been replaced with memories of the last six months with him. But right now, feeling unsure of herself, they came rushing back. “At the end of this, your dad will take you back. He’ll welcome you home. You’ll go off to college and forget all this ever happened. You’re a tourist.” In a flash, Ellie pushed back from the table, not looking at him as she spoke. “I need some air.” She mumbled, grabbing her phone and heading for the door without a backwards glance.

Colt watched the emotions playing across her face, wondering what she was thinking. Just as he reached for her, she got up and walked out, leaving him staring after her bewildered. Only moments ago, she’d seemed so confident. The night before he’d seen a new side of her, and now she was clearly struggling again. Unsure of what he could do, Colt decided to give her some space, sliding the laptop toward him to do some digging of his own.

Outside, Ellie paced down the sidewalk dialing a number on her phone. A number she shouldn’t have, but somehow managed to uncover. After a few rings, Logan’s voice came from the other end. “Hello?” He asked, sounding wary, which was understandable since he wouldn’t recognize her own new number.

Ellie sighed in relief that he’d picked up. Colt was going to kill her, but at the end of everything, Logan had still become one of her closest friends. And she didn’t have many of those left with Riya and Darius living different lives off at their universities. She really needed him here. “Hi Logan.” Was all she said, sounding sheepish. He’d told her not to contact him. Not to look for him. But the FBI was gone now, it was safe enough.

The surprise in voice was obvious, he sounded like the wind had been punched out of him. “Ellie? Is that really you?” A long pause followed, the sound of his breathing all she could hear. “Ellie you know you shouldn’t call me. It isn’t safe.”

“Actually, that’s why I called. The FBI gave up. Something-” Her throat closed up as tears threatened to fall and she coughed to clear it. “Something happened. I’m uh...I’m still in L.A.” She explained, wrapping her free arm around her stomach to try and hold in her pain. “I’ll explain later. But it’s safe for you to come back, and...I’m helping Colt rebuild the crew. We’re planning something pretty big. Can you come home?” Ellie’s voice was sheepish and hopeful. This was always part of her and Colt’s plan. She’d convinced him they needed Logan, though he really didn’t like it, it wasn’t as if they had options lining up at the door. They couldn’t do this alone anymore, and even Colt couldn’t deny Logan was an excellent driver. Though he had definitely tried.

Logan was silent for so long Ellie thought he’d hung up. “Send me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The air whooshed out of her lungs as she sighed in relief. One down, four to go. At least she could do something right today.

“Thank you, Logan.” Ellie said, sincerity in her voice. She didn’t want to discuss the details over the phone, so they hung up and she texted him the address for the house in Fresno. She’d tell him about her dad, about the plan, when he got here. Ellie looked up and realized she was in front of a park. She walked over to a bench and sat down, watching a few young children playing and breathing in the fresh air of the valley. It was so peaceful here, the Sierra Nevada mountains peeking out of the clouds in the distance, she remembered coming here over the summer with her mom and dad. Her dad had taught her to swim in the pool in the backyard, taken her to this park, driven her up to those mountains--the first time she’d ever seen snow. A smile crept onto her face, she was finally calming down. After half an hour, Ellie headed back to the house.

Feeling slightly better after her walk, Ellie walked into the garage that was attached to the house, immediately seeing Colt bent over the engine of their stolen Aylesbury. Colt heard the door open behind him and turned to see her walking in, looking slightly more relaxed but there was something clearly still on her mind. He grabbed a grease rag from the workbench beside him and wiped the grime off his hands, looking her over. “You alright?”

Slowly, Ellie approached, unable to look him in the eye. “Colt I need to ask you something.” She had to bring this up now. She couldn’t avoid it anymore, the words rattling in her mind were shaking her confidence and not knowing was doing more damage than anything he could say to justify them. Ellie needed to figure this out or she’d second guess herself in the heat of the moment, and that was something they couldn’t afford on a job like this. She was directly in front of him now, one arm crossed over her body holding the other, looking at the floor. Taking a deep breath, she looked up, meeting his inquisitive gaze. “D-Did you mean it? That night in the casino, when you called me a tourist? I asked you then if that was what you thought of me, but you didn’t answer.”

The color drained from Colt’s face and he was quiet for a long moment, thinking. Thinking how much of an ass he’d been back then. Thinking how devastated she’d looked when he said that too. Thinking he was still and ass for not apologizing sooner. He remembered how his dad never showed any weakness for anyone, not even him, and how Ellie had showed him that was no way to live. That it wasn’t a strength but a weakness. Colt had spent so long trying to fill his dad’s shoes, he’d taken on the negative qualities as well as the positive. Her words came back to him from that night outside the burning garage, “I’m just saying his life, and yours, would’ve been so much better if he’d shown you how much he cared.” He was still in unfamiliar territory here, but the way she’d looked at him at the casino, the way she was looking at him now, he’d do anything to fix that. Finally, he spoke, barely above a whisper. “No.” That syllable was so hard for him to say, weighed down by shame and sorrow, but he continued anyway. “No, I didn’t. I was just… I had to get you out of there. So I lied.” Colt pushed a hand through his hair and looked away from her, out the small window of the garage. “I lied from the beginning. I didn’t want to involve you in that plan in the first place, but we didn’t have a choice. When you left, you were safe. And seeing you there that night, I panicked. I said what I said to push you away. You were in danger and you were my weakness Ellie. If you were there, I wasn’t sure if I could pull off the plan.”

Ellie nodded, understanding, but the hurt wouldn’t go away. “I guess I wish you’d just been honest with me. That you’d trusted me the way I trusted you.” She reached out and put a hand on his arm, getting him to look at her again. “We have to be in this together, and I thought we were until then. But now…” Her voice trailed off and Colt nodded, reaching out to brush her hair behind her ear.

“I know, Elle. And…” He paused, swallowing hard and taking a deep breath. “And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I said. I’m sorry for not being honest with you sooner. I’m sorry for making you feel like you weren’t enough. Because nothing could be further from the truth. I hurt you by trying to save you when you didn’t want to be saved.” Colt’s hands gently gripped her waist and he pulled her closer. “You’re my queen, and I never should’ve given you a reason to doubt that.” Colt tried to smile a little, tried to remind her of the promises he’d made her and that he intended to keep.

With a short laugh, Ellie placed her hands on his chest, feeling his racing heart under her hands. “I suppose I should be used to your temper by now. I just… I had to know before we do this. And I know this plan is insane, but we can do it. As long as we believe in each other. Okay?” Colt nodded, dropping a kiss to her forehead in another, silent, apology. “I love you, you asshole.” Ellie leaned back and smirked at him.

Colt grinned and held her closer by the hips. “Love you too, crazy.” They held each other for several long moments, not saying anything. Colt still felt terrible for making her doubt herself but all he could do now is show her he believed in her, and he would make sure he did. After a while, Ellie took a deep breath and slipped her fingers into the hairs on the back of his neck, running the strands through her fingers to soothe him before she told him about Logan.

“There’s...something else.” She started, a little worried about his reaction. Sure, they’d agreed to call Logan and offer him his old spot on the crew, but Ellie calling him alone would more than likely make Colt jealous. “I called Logan. He’s uh...he’s on his way here. Said he’d be here in a day or two after he tied up some loose ends.” She felt Colt’s body go tense in her arms, but he nodded.

“Alright...Good. We should probably call X and Toby too. We’re going to need all the help we can get.” Colt pushed aside the old feelings of jealousy as best he could. Ellie was his now, and he had to trust that. He had to trust her. They needed Logan, as much as they needed Ximena and Toby, to break Mona out of a medium security prison in the middle of downtown L.A.

A week later, Colt, Ellie, Toby, Logan, and Ximena all stood around the pool table of the safehouse. Colt and Ellie were standing on one side, explaining the plan while pointing out key points on a blueprint in front of them. “So, Toby and X will stay in the car at the escape point here.” Colt explained, gesturing to a side exit of the prison that was relatively hidden from the main security of the facility. “Toby, you’ll wait for my signal and put the cameras on a loop so no one can see Logan and I while we find Mona. We’ll do it in sections.” Next, his eyes fell on Logan. “Once we get her, we’ll need you to take the wheel. Can you get us out of there in under a minute?” Colt asked him.

Logan nodded, arms folded and eyebrows furrowed as he studied the blueprint. “If Toby can make sure that gate is open, I can get us out in time.” He answered, pointing to a gate near the escape point that lead out to the main road.

“Fantastic.” Colt replied, a little sarcastic. “Ellie will stay here and monitor the feeds for any surprises and help Toby if he needs it. She’ll be in all our ears with these.” He picked up a box from the corner of the table that held several small earpieces.

Toby sat on a nearby couch, pulling his laptop out of his backpack and opening it on his lap. “I’ll start getting familiar with their security. I’ll bet I can find some weak points.”

Colt leaned back and crossed his arms, looking at Ximena next. “X, I need you to be ready to take Toby and get the hell out if anything goes wrong. If we’re followed on the way out, we might also need your help taking out a guard or two, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. This plan is solid, and if we all do our jobs, Mona will be here with us for what comes next.”

“So...we’re really doing this? I mean, I know we’ve pulled some risky jobs in the past, but this is...this is next level. Are you sure about this plan, Colt?” Ximena asked, looking unsure.

Glancing at Ellie for a split second, Colt nodded firmly. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

Logan sighed, pushing a hand through his long hair as he leaned over the blueprint. “Well I suppose we’d better study up. We’ve got a lot to get done. How much time do we have before this goes down?”

Ellie stepped forward, clearing her throat and speaking up for the first time that night. “Two months. There’s a benefit being held for the prison’s donors then. Most of the high-profile security personnel will be in attendance. They’ll be understaffed for a few hours, that’s when we go in.” She paused, taking a moment to look at each of them in turn. “I know this is risky, it’s not something any of us have experience in and a lot could go wrong. But we need Mona and it isn’t fair for her to be locked up. Not when she nearly died for me. I understand that it’s a lot to ask, but I wouldn’t ask if we could do this any other way. I’m confident in our plan, as long as all of us are ready, we can do this.”

A silence fell over the room as everyone processed the information. After a moment, Toby piped up from the couch. “So...apparently no one else is gonna ask, but Ellie we thought you were going to college. What happened?”

Ellie froze, eyes going wide. She expected this, of course. But with Logan, Toby and Ximena’s eyes all on her, the words wouldn’t come. That pain she’d buried over the last six months, her own insecurities about this way of life, and the dream of going to college that had slowly dissolved from the time she’d backed out of the summer program until finally reaching a breaking point following her father’s death all slammed into her chest at once like a tidal wave. “I...um…” The words wouldn’t come, her throat closed up, tears threatening to spring from her eyes.

Thankfully, blessedly, Colt spoke up for her. “It doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the job. Once we get Mona out safely, we’ll explain everything. But for now, just focus on learning every inch of this prison. We have time on our side for once, so let’s use it wisely. Okay?” He shifted a little closer to Ellie, staring down the others as if daring them to push the issue. No one did.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Toby spoke up again. “Alright...well we’re gonna need some dinner. Who’s up for pizza?”

Tags: @poeticscolt @courtesan-of-garage @nazariortega @lovehugsandcandy @maxwellsquidsuit @brightpinkpeppercorn @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction @postcardfromsomewhere @walkerduchess @zaira-oh-zaira @umiumichan @long-gone-girl @leelee10898 @client-327 @desiree-0816 @choicesarehard

#choices rod #playchoices #pixelberry #choices #colt #colt kaneko #colt x mc #colt kaneko x mc #mine

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